Vioxx deal payments to begin Aug. 28

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http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/20/news/companies/vioxx_payments.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008082018

Partial payments for people claiming that the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx caused heart attacks will go out starting Aug. 28, under the $4.85 billion settlement between drugmaker Merck & Co. and plaintiffs' lawyers, the claims administrator said Wednesday.

Those payments will amount to about 40% of each plaintiff's estimated total payout, but it's unclear how many people will be receiving checks from the first batch going out.

The settlement, meant to end the bulk of personal injury lawsuits against Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck, was reached last November. Merck had pulled Vioxx from the market on Sept. 30, 2004, after its own research showed the once-blockbuster arthritis pill doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.