Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 19, 1994 TAG: 9409220019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Originally, the trustees set the amount at $10,000 per woman injured by the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device because they feared paying larger amounts would deplete the trust and leave some claimants without compensation.
But then the first 12 jury trials resulted in nine verdicts for the trust and one mistrial. The awards in the other two cases totaled $50,000.
The trust raised the judgment amount to $75,000 earlier this year. The sum went up to $175,000 Thursday.
To date, the trust has had 23 jury trials and arbitration hearings. The trust has obtained outright defense verdicts in 13 of the cases and a mistrial in one.
The total amount of all judgments or awards to plaintiffs totaled $993,500, compared with $14 million sought by plaintiffs.
``We believe the trust's litigation experience clearly demonstrates the fairness of its offers,'' trust chairwoman Georgene Vairo said.
The $2.3 billion trust has resolved more than 92 percent of its claims. It anticipates completing all claim evaluations and making all offers by the end of March 1995. There are fewer than 10,000 claims to be resolved.
The Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust was created as part of the reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection of Richmond-based A.H. Robins Co.
The onetime Fortune 500 company was overwhelmed by the claims of women who alleged they were injured by the Dalkon Shield intrauterine birth-control device once made and distributed by Robins.
The trust was created after New York-based American Home Products Corp. acquired Robins.
by CNB