Judge to Approve Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement with Sackler Family

Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement Details

• 🏛️ A US bankruptcy court judge announced he expects to approve a settlement involving Purdue Pharma, its owners the Sackler family, and thousands of claimants.
• 💰 The Sackler family will contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years as part of the deal.
• ⚖️ Unlike previous settlements, this one includes provisions for individual victims and survivors to receive payments, estimated at $8,000 or $16,000 per claim.

Background and Previous Challenges

• ⏳ This case has been ongoing for approximately six years.
• 🚫 A prior settlement was approved but later rejected by the US Supreme Court, which ruled that Sackler family members improperly received protections from lawsuits despite not filing for bankruptcy themselves.

The Opioid Crisis in the US

• 💔 The opioid crisis has resulted in approximately 900,000 deaths in the US since 1999.
• 📈 The crisis has evolved through different waves, starting with prescription pills, then heroin, and finally fentanyl.
• 📉 Annual death numbers have only recently begun to show a decrease.