Purdue Pharma willing to pay up to $6 billion in opioid suits settlements
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Members of the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, up the settlement of thousands of lawsuits linked to the opioid crisis to $6 billion .
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A protestor holds a picture of her dead daughter, who had used OxyContin
The Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, are willing to pay more money in settlements for the thousands of lawsuits they are facing over OxyContin.
The company is currently trying to reach a deal with state attorneys general who threw away an earlier settlement. A federal mediator asked the US bankruptcy court to allow her time until the end of the month to broker a new settlement.
The latest proposal would have the Sackler family pay out between $5.5 and $6 billion, up from the earlier $4.3 billion they had agreed to pay in the original bankruptcy settlement. The money would be paid out over 18 years for families, and the rest would be used to combat the US' opioid crisis.
The opioid crisis has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the US over the past 20 years. In exchange for the settlement, the family would be protected from future lawsuits related. Advocates for opioid victims and their families voiced concern over where the additional money would go as only $750 million will be set aside as payment to victims of the crisis.
“The government’s pot will continue to get larger as additional settlement negotiations may continue, yet there’s no increase for direct payments to families and survivors,” said Ryan Hampton, an advocate for people with opioid use disorder. “It’s dead wrong and unjust.”
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 as thousands of lawsuits accused it and the Sackler family of fueling the opioid epidemic through its deceptive marketing. The company pleaded guilty to misbranding and fraud charges related to its marketing of OxyContin in 2007 and 2020, while Sackler family members have denied wrongdoing.
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