$60 Million Settlement by Korein Tillery in Pfizer Rezulin Case Finances Research for Illinois Law To Improve School Care for Students with Diabetes

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A grant from a $60 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by Korein Tillery led to a new Illinois law that improves care for children with diabetes at schools throughout the state. The settlement in the suit against Pfizer Inc. and a subsidiary over the safety of its now removed anti-diabetes prescription drug Rezulin created a $20 million fund to finance diabetes research.

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported that part of a $5 million grant from the settlement fund to the Illinois Institute of Technology was used by the Chicago-Kent College of Law to finance research and work with Illinois legislators and diabetes-care advocates to develop, pass, and implement a law that makes it easier for children with diabetes to get care at school. For students who provide their school with a care plan, school employees can be trained to administer insulin or glucagon and carry out other tasks associated with diabetes care. Those employees do not have to be nurses or medical personnel.

Associate Clinical Professor of Law Edward M. Kraus and Distinguished Professor Lori B. Andrews of Chicago-Kent led the effort with several law students, according to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. The group researched legislation in other states and worked with State Rep. Thomas H. Cross III, R-Oswego; Sen. Heather Stearns, D-Chicago; and diabetes advocates including Suzanne Elder and the American Diabetes Association to get the Legislature to pass the law. Gov. Pat Quinn signed it and it went into effect last Dec. 1.

Stephen M. Tillery and Aaron M. Zigler of Korein Tillery prosecuted the class action against Pfizer and subsidiary Warner-Lambert alleging that they had illegally advertised and priced Rezulin as an anti-diabetes drug that was “safe as a placebo” when in fact the drug had fatal side effects. Tillery said thousands of personal-injury cases and 50 class-action cases were filed concerning the drug. However, of the class-action suits, only Korein Tillery’s led to any recovery through the 2004 settlement. The settlement was reported to be the largest settlement or verdict in Illinois in 2004 and was cited on the floor of the U.S. Senate as an example of how class-action suits serve the public good.

For more information on the case and settlement, go to the Korein Tillery Web site at http://www.koreintillery.com/practices.php?category=Practice+Areas&headline=Pharmaceutical/Health Care.

Korein Tillery is a an AV-rated, award-winning class action law firm with offices in St. Louis and Chicago that has recovered billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements in a variety of cases across the country involving pension funds, insurance, securities, antitrust, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, environmental contamination, tobacco, computer technology, and consumer fraud. Perhaps best known for its $10 billion trial verdict against Philip Morris, the firm has gained a national reputation for aggressively and successfully pursuing a wide variety of complex cases on behalf of its clients. Korein Tillery was named by the National Law Journal to its “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008 as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in all specialties. More information is available at www.koreintillery.com.

Korein TilleryCharlie BosworthDirector of Communications
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Source: Korein Tillery