Challenge to opioid settlement brings even more money
By Terry Murry on Friday, March 4th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday that Washington will receive an additional $113 million from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family by challenging the Oxycontin maker’s original bankruptcy plan. The money will be used to tackle the opioid crisis and help Washington’s recovery.
Meanwhile, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced that Oregon will receive up to $97 million more in the challenged settlement, every penny of which will be earmarked for opioid treatment and prevention.
Washington and Oregon were among eight states and the District of Columbia that refused to accept the initial settlement in the case against the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma for fueling the opioid epidemic. The challenge asserted that Purdue embarked on a massive deceptive marketing campaign to convince doctors and the public that OxyContin is effective for treating chronic pain and has a low risk of addiction, all without evidence to support its claims.
By challenging the original settlement, the nine attorneys general won an additional $1.175 billion from the Sacklers to help states, cities and tribes address the harms of the opioid epidemic.
Washington’s share will more than double from $70 million under the original plan to $183 million – a significant increase from the original settlement that was challenged. Oregon’s breakdown of the settlement includes $34 million from the challenge, $56 million from the original bankruptcy plan, and up to $7 million more depending on the sale of certain assets. Oregon will receive its first payment this year.
