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$200 million settlement approved for fungal meningitis victims

Persons with Fungal Infections Linked to Steroid Injections, by State
CDC

 A judge has approved a $200 million settlement for victims of the fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012.

It was caused by a Massachusetts pharmacy called the New England Compounding Center, which was making massive amounts of back pain shots in a dirty lab.

The tainted drugs were then shipped all over the country, sickening almost 1,000 people and killing 64.

Some who survived have struggled with strokes, paralysis and chronic pain. 

Attorney Marc Lipton has been working on the settlement.

He says the good news is that the pharmacy owners will have to pay a lot out of pocket.

But the bad news is that once the money is divided up, it may not go that far.

"The money that they're getting is not enough to cover the severity of their injuries, in some cases the loss of employment, the outstanding medical bills some people have,” he says.

Nineteen people in Michigan died.  

Some of the pharmacists and owners of the Massachusetts pharmacy are facing criminal charges. 

Kate Wells is a Peabody Award-winning journalist currently covering public health. She was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her abortion coverage.
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