Federal Judge Denies Phen-Fen Claim for $856,000 in Benefits

PHILADELPHIA - A class member under the Diet Drug Nationwide Class Action Settlement Agreement has failed to demonstrate a reasonable medical basis to support her claim for $855,717 in Matrix A-1, Level III compensation benefits, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled. Spiker v. Wyeth, No. 99-20593 (E.D. Pa.).

On March 18, Chief Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that Brenda J. Spiker failed to adequately refute the findings of the auditing physician that she suffered from moderate or greater mitral regurgitation before taking the diet drug.

In July, 2004, Spiker …