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Purdue Pharma and its Sackler family owners have reached a new US$7.4 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging that the pain medication OxyContin caused a widespread opioid addiction crisis in the US, several state attorneys general said Thursday.
The settlement was announced nearly seven months after the US Supreme Court upended the company’s previous attempt to resolve the lawsuits in a bankruptcy settlement that would have granted the Sacklers sweeping civil immunity from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a payment of up to US$6 billion.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Sacklers, who did not file for bankruptcy themselves, were not entitled to legal protections meant to give bankrupt debtors a “fresh start”.
Under the new settlement, the Sacklers will pay US$6.5 billion, with another US$900 million coming from Purdue, without fully shutting off lawsuits from states, local governments, or individual victims of the opioid crisis. Those who do not wish to join the settlement are free to pursue lawsuits against the Sacklers, who have said they would vigorously defend themselves in court.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said that the settlement would help provide closure to victims of the opioid crisis.
“It’s not just about the money,” Tong said. “There is not enough money in the world to make it right.”
