Purdue Pharma offers $10 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Purdue Pharma is offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 to $12 billion according to NBC News.
Purdue Pharma is offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 to $12 billion according to NBC News.
NBC is reporting that Purdue's lawyers discussed the potential deal in Cleveland on August 20.
At least ten attorneys general and the plaintiffs' attorneys gathered in Cleveland with a representative from the company.
Youngstown City Law Director Jeff Limbian said combining the cases into one could be beneficial.
"Combining all these cases into one place with one federal judge and that's perfectly fine as long as there is some relief and some vindication and validation that the pharmaceutical industry has done terrible things to allow these kinds of drugs that are so powerful and so dangerous to be unleashed on our community," Limbian said.
NBC News reports that Purdue is seeking to settle lawsuits that allege the company's sales practices were deceptive and contributed to the opioid crisis.
According to NBC News, the opioid crisis claimed 400,000 lives between 1999 and 2017.
NBC News is reporting that Purdue representatives presented a plan for the company to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructure into a for-profit "public benefit trust."
The trust would exist for ten years.
State Senator Sean O'Brien told 21 News how that trust money would be spent. "The money will be used for drug interdiction, drug treatment, drug education, and those are good programs. It is going to those types of programs so we can get people off the drugs and get young people not even started," O'Brien said.
