A. H. Robins’ Bankruptcy Plan OKd; IUD Trust Fund Set Up
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal court Friday approved the bankruptcy reorganization of A. H. Robins Co. with $2.5 billion set aside for women injured by the company’s Dalkon Shield birth control device, sold widely in the 1970s.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld all parts of the restructuring of Robins, which will become a subsidiary of New York-based American Home Products Corp. in a $700-million stock swap.
“I think it’s just tremendous news for all Dalkon Shield claimants,” said Guerry Thornton, attorney for the Dalkon Shield Victims Assn. in Atlanta. “It means the decade wait for fair treatment and vindication of their rights is almost over.”
Robins, a Richmond-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, sought Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection from creditors in August, 1985.
The company faced millions of dollars in damage claims from thousands of women who said they suffered injuries, including infections, sterility, miscarriages and giving birth to children with birth defects caused by the Dalkon Shield intrauterine device.
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