Timing of Compensation Payments

Some class members have been inquiring as to the timing of payments and as to why there will be more than one payment.

I would expect that Category 1 claimants will receive a cheque within several weeks from when the judge releases his decision.  I cannot speak for the judge but would anticipate that the decision as to approval of the settlement will be handed down within several weeks.  When it is handed down, we have the settlement fund in an interest bearing trust account and will hand over the monies to the administrator.

The administrator would be expected to keep these monies in an interest bearing account until the distribution is complete.

The first payment will be an amount which is about half of the intended injury compensation amount.  The reason is that the ultimate payment will be partly a function of how many people claim in each category.  Not all class members in a class action settlement actually make a claim, and depending on what is called the uptake, the amount for disbursement to each claimant may be slightly more than the intended amount, or slightly less.

We must give public notice of the settlement approval and there will be a six month period for class members to apply.  The administrator will make a first payment to all those class members in categories other than 1 at that point (category 1 members will already have received a cheque).

The administrator will prequalify class members for whom we have medical records and notify them of the prequalification and the category in which they are prequalified.  We will be giving the administrator the records we have obtained.  To verify that the administrator has a class members records, you should contact the administrator at the toll free number or other address which he will provide.  We will give you a reminder to do this when the judge hands down his decision on approval and the administrator makes the toll free number known.

I understand that these delays can seem frustrating, but in something as complex as a class action settlement, delays of this kind are inevitable and outside of our control.  Thank you all for your patience.