Notices Sent to All Meningitis Claimants

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Initial notification letters have now been mailed to the thousands of patients or their survivors who have filed claims in the bankruptcy case stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Fredric Ellis, a Massachusetts attorney representing victims, said Friday that all claimants should have received at least one letter from the court appointed administrator overseeing a $200 million trust fund established in the bankruptcy of the New England Compounding Center.
He said those notices include those whose claims were awarded in full, partial awards and those whose claims were denied.
More than 3,000 claims were filed during the bankruptcy of the Framingham, Mass. firm blamed for the 2012 outbreak that killed 76 patients, the drug firm blamed for the outbreak. Most, though not all of the claims, were filed by victims.
If there are persons who filed claims and haven't received at least one letter, Ellis said those individuals should contact the administrator or their own attorney. Contact information for the administrator is listed on the settlement website (www.neccsettlement.com).
Ellis also said the initial set of appeals filed under the plan have been resolved, but others are still in process and still others have yet to be filed. Claimants generally have 90 days after their notification to file an appeal.
Another key issue - reimbursement claims by the federal government and insurance companies -  remains to be resolved. Ellis said negotiations with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and major private insurers are ongoing. He declined to provide any details.
Those claims could vastly reduce, or even eliminate in some cases, any awards going to the victims.
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