The Massachusetts pharmacy whose tainted steroid injections were blamed for a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis has agreed to pay more than $100 million to victims and their families, according to lawyers involved in a tentative settlement.
The tentative deal is part of an effort to compensate victims and their families for injuries they suffered after receiving the injections for back pain. The plaintiffs are seeking additional money from the dozens of medical clinics that administered the tainted injections, said Thomas Sobol, lead lawyer for the victims.
"This is the first step in the process that we hope will generate more funds from others involved," said Paul Moore, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for the pharmacy, New England Compounding Center, of Framingham, Mass. The center suspended operations last year.
Of the 14,000 who received the tainted injections last year, 64 died and about 700 others fell ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak raised concerns about the regulation of compounding pharmacies, which custom-mix large batches of medications generally not available from pharmaceutical companies
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