Fund for Meningitis Victims Grows to $210 Million

A compensation fund for victims of a fungal meningitis outbreak, that killed 64 people and infected more than 750 people in 20 states, has grown to $210 million, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

The 2012 national meningitis outbreak was linked to an injected steroid produced by now-bankrupt New England Compounding Center (NECC) of Framingham.

The Boston Globe reported it obtained court documents that show two companies that did business with NECC added $70 million more in settlements to the already $100 million set aside for the fund.

UniFirst, a Massachusetts company that cleaned the compounding pharmacy’s “clean room,” agreed to pay $30.1 million, and Insight Health Corp., a Virginia clinic that administered the drugs to some patients, agreed to pay $40 million. The businesses’ insurers are covering at least part of the payments, according to court documents.

The settlements must be agreed to by people seeking compensation and a bankruptcy judge.

Lawyers told the Boston newspaper payments to victims could begin in 2015.

Click here to read the full report.