Deal with OxyContin maker leaves families angry, conflicted

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, Lynn Wencus of Wrentham, Mass., holds a sign with a picture of her son Jeff and wears a sign of others' loved ones lost to OxyContin and other opioids during a protest at Purdue Pharma LLP headquarters in Stamford, Conn. A landmark settlement in the nation's opioid epidemic is forcing the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to give up the company and pay out $4.5 billion. "Am I happy they don't have to admit guilt and give up all their money? Of course not," said Wencus. "But what would that do? It doesn't bring my son back and it doesn't help those who are suffering." (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File) FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, Lynn Wencus of Wrentham, Mass., holds a sign with a picture of her son Jeff and wears a sign of others' loved ones lost to OxyContin and other opioids during a protest at Purdue Pharma LLP headquarters in Stamford, Conn. A landmark settlement in the nation's opioid epidemic is forcing the owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to give up the company and pay out $4.5 billion. "Am I happy they don't have to admit guilt and give up all their money? Of course not," said Wencus. "But what would that do? It doesn't bring my son back and it doesn't help those who are suffering." (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

By JOHN SEEWER and GEOFF MULVIHILL / Associated Press September 2, 2021 5 min read

Among the families who lost children and other loved ones in the nation’s opioid crisis, many had held out hope of someday facing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners in a courtroom.

That prospect all but vanished Wednesday after a bankruptcy judge conditionally approved a settlement worth an estimated $10 billion. It was a deal that left many of those families feeling they didn’t get what they really wanted.

There was no apology from members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma, they weren’t forced to give up all of their vast fortune, and there was no chance to confront them face-to-face about the lives lost to opioids.

Instead, the individual victims, thousands of state and local governments and other entities that sued Purdue Pharma agreed to a deal in which the Sacklers will pay $4.5 billion and give up ownership of the company, which will be reorganized.

The company’s profits and the Sacklers’ contribution will go toward fighting opioid addiction through treatment and education programs. Also, victims of drug addiction can receive payments ranging from $3,500 to $48,000.