A yearslong legal battle over Purdue Pharma’s role in the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic is approaching a climactic end, as
A yearslong legal battle over Purdue Pharma’s role in the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic is approaching a climactic end, as lawyers from nearly every side urged a bankruptcy judge Friday to approve a sweeping settlement that would resolve thousands of lawsuits against the OxyContin maker.
According to The Associated Press, if U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane signs off, it could close one of the most consequential and emotional chapters in the nationwide fight to hold Purdue and members of the Sackler family accountable for an opioid crisis tied to roughly 900,000 deaths since 1999.
The hearing — now in its third day — marks the latest step in a saga that began six years ago when Purdue filed for bankruptcy under the weight of litigation seeking damages that eventually climbed into the trillions.
Throughout the process, cities, states, tribes, hospitals, victims, and the Sacklers themselves have clashed over whether true justice is possible in a bankruptcy court designed more for restructuring finances than delivering moral accountability.
A previous settlement collapsed last year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Sackler family members could not be granted blanket immunity from future opioid lawsuits.
