Fen Phen lawyer Cynthia K. Garrett reports that worsened injury claims may still be filed for those who took the diet drugs Pondimin or Redux, registered with the AHP Settlement Trust by May 3, 2003, established the required baseline injury during the Screening Period that ended in 2003, did not participate in the Seventh Amendment Supplemental Fund, and currently qualify for a Matrix Compensation Level and dollar value above any previous award received.

Garrett explained, “Whether you can still file a claim depends upon the nature and extent of your injury, when your worst injury was first diagnosed, and what has previously been filed in your case. The criteria you must meet to file a claim today is discussed at length on my website, CKGLawFim.com. I’ve provided you with a quick summary below.”

Who Can Still File A Claim:

Qualifying injuries must have been diagnosed prior to your 80th birthday.
If you opted-out of the 7th Amendment and have not yet received Matrix Compensation benefits, and you can show that any matrix level condition was present before December 31, 2015, you may file an Original Claim for Matrix Compensation.

If you have already received Matrix Compensation and did not participate in the 7th Amendment Supplemental Fund you may file a Supplemental Claim if you have been diagnosed with a medical condition that qualifies for a Matrix Compensation Level and dollar value above any previous Matrix Compensation award you have received.

If you participated in the 7th Amendment Supplemental Fund the deadline for filing a claim has expired.
Deadlines:
The deadline for filing a Matrix Compensation claim with the AHP Settlement Trust is four years from the date you were first diagnosed as having the last occurring condition or event upon which the claim for Matrix Compensation Benefits is based.

Qualifying Injuries:
According to Garrett, some of the medical conditions that qualify

Study Shows Lingering Heart Valve Problems in Former Users of Banned Obesity Drugs Fenfluramine and Dexfenfluramine

Two banned obesity drugs may have lingering effects on the heart, according to a new study.

The study shows that heart valve problems linked to the banned obesity drugs fenfluramine and/or dexfenfluramine typically last years after stopping those drugs.

The FDA ordered fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine off the market in September 1997 after those drugs were linked to heart valve problems. Fenfluramine was one of the ingredients in “fen-phen,” and dexfenfluramine is closely related to fenfluramine. The “phen” in fen-phen refers to a drug called phentermine, which wasn’t banned.

The new study, published online today in BMC Medicine, shows what happened to the hearts of 5,743 former users of fenfluramine and/or dexfenfluramine.

Heart Valve Problems

The patients were seen by doctors including Charles Dahl, MD, of the Central Utah Clinic in Provo, Utah, between July 1997 and February 2004.

During that time, each patient got an echocardiogram and 1,020 patients got two or more echocardiograms 30 months apart, on average.

Dahl’s team searched the echocardiograms for signs of blood leaking back through heart valves (regurgitation), and they noted which patients got surgery to correct heart valve problems.