Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own the company that distributes the drug OxyContin will pay $6 billion to victims and survivors as part of their role in the opioid epidemic.
The state was one of eight, along with Washington, D.C., that signed the settlement.
“This agreement authorizes Connecticut to create a Connecticut Opioid survivors trust,” said Tong. “It’s also a way to get money to support and serve victims, survivors and their families.”
Connecticut first filed a lawsuit against Purdue and members of the Sackler family in 2018.
Liz Fitzgerald, a Southington resident, spoke on how the drug tragically claimed the lives of her two sons years ago.
“My three children have lost two brothers,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that a lot more needs to be done to support families because of that traumatic PTSD. They just destroyed our lives.”
Connecticut will receive nearly $95 million from the settlement and spread over an 18-year period and will commence once Purdue, which is to be renamed Knoa Pharma, emerges from bankruptcy.
It’s subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.
