💊The Sacklers Push For A Final Settlement

How about another $1.5 billion? That's the offer by the Sackler family to settle with state attorney generals over thousands of lawsuits in regards to the family's ties to Purdue Pharma and its role in the opioid crisis. The additional sum would bring the settlement up to nearly $6 billion, and the family hopes to bar all future cases should the state AGs accept. 

• According to NPR, this "protection was contained in the original bankruptcy settlement but prompted the objecting states to file an appeal" because they felt it did not do enough to hold the family (which made billions off the sale of opioids) accountable.

A Public Nuisance

The Sacklers and their company, Purdue Pharmaceuticals, are not the only ones coming under fire for the opioid crisis. A series of lawsuits across the country have been brought against other Big Pharma companies like Teva and Johnson & Johnson, as well as retailers like CVS and Walgreens. The central argument in all these cases is that these firms acted as a public nuisance in their push to make and sell opioids to the general population. 

The Verdict 

With thousands of lawsuits still making their way through the court systems, and a potential settlement of billions of dollars, it’s clear that whatever the outcome here, it will be momentous. The question remains, however, if the current and future victims of the opioid crisis will ever get justice.