Legal-Bay LLC, the premier Pre-Settlement Funding Company, reports that the ongoing legal disputes against UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) regarding their heartburn medicine, Zantac, may finally be coming to a close. A recent ruling has determined a $2.2 billion payout to settle 93% of cases—approximately 80,000 plaintiffs and counting—to resolve all U.S. state court product liability cases that meet the agreed-upon conditions. GSK has also reached an agreement to pay $70 million to resolve the Zantac Qui Tam suit previously filed by Valisure. The arrangement is awaiting final approval from the Department of Justice.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against GSK, claiming their antacid Zantac caused a greater risk of cancer in its users, stating the main ingredient Ranitidine may be a human carcinogen. While scientific data does not yet provide dependable evidence to support cancer links, GSK felt it was in the company's fiscal interest to settle the lawsuits in order to appease shareholders rather than draw out litigation endlessly. The heartburn medication has been the target of legal filings for over five years already, and GSK has been able to settle upon both agreements while providing no admission of liability. Subsequent lawsuits are still ongoing.
Chris Janish, CEO of Legal Bay, says, "We have restarted funding Zantac cases for plaintiffs in need of cash to pay bills while they wait for final resolution of their claims. This has been one of the most difficult litigations in a long time, and we applaud the parties for finally getting it resolved. However, due to the size of the class and final amounts still not approved, we do not expect swift settlement payments."
Settlement monies are not expected to payout for another two to three years, and there is no way to estimate how much each plaintiff's case will be worth. Similar case values have been determined based on extent/amount of injuries along with the level of merit to the case. Each case is unique, and many factors go into deciding final damages. For the Zantac lawsuit payouts, plaintiffs will fall into one of three tiers:
- Tier I: Tier 1 injuries can expect payouts in the $300,000 range. Injuries in this tier include cancers of the stomach, prostate, pancreas, or breast.
- Tier II: Tier 2 injuries can expect payouts between $80,000 and 160,000 in most cases. Injuries in this tier include cancers of the major organs like bladder, kidney, or liver.
- Tier III: Tier 3 injuries are looking at payouts anywhere between $20,000 and $60,000. Injuries in this tier vary greatly, but to a lesser extent than Tier I or II.