The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Claims against Purdue Pharma rise
STAMFORD — About 17,800 personal-injury claims have been filed by people who believe they or loved ones were harmed by Purdue Pharma’s opioids — more than double the total from a few weeks earlier, according to a new report compiled as part of the OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy case.
The total, as of June 11, marks a sharp escalation from the roughly 6,800 personal-injury forms that had been filed by May 21. In addition, about 5,300 potential personal-injury claims have been submitted through other documentation against the Stamford-based company.
“Everyone who has a claim has the opportunity to file a claim, and we will see how many claims are filed by July 30,” Purdue said in a statement Tuesday.
The deadline for filing was recently extended a month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those who filed personalinjury forms, about 15,500 said they had been injured by opioids. About 2,400 said they were submitting claims related to another person’s opioid use.
Approximately 240 submitted claims on behalf of minors with neonatal abstinence syndrome, which refers to complications caused by babies’ withdrawal from drugs to which they are exposed while in their mothers’ wombs.
Another 657 said they were not currently aware of any injury but they wanted to file now to retain the ability to seek payment in case they suffered future adverse effects related to opioid use.
Among the states, Connecticut accounts so far for 202 claims. In line with being the most-populous state, California has produced the most, with 4,265.
Private citizens’ claims are being processed in federal bankruptcy court alongside the approximately 3,000 lawsuits that allege Purdue fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of its opioids including OxyContin. The company denies those claims, although it has offered a settlement of the complaints that it has valued at more than $10 billion.
Individual payouts would not change the total settlement value. The amount paid out to individuals would be determined through the bankruptcy
For more information on the process for filing claims against Purdue Pharma, visit https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/purduepharma/EPOC-Index process.
On June 3, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy agreed to push back the claims-filing deadline from June 30 to July 30. Purdue had argued for the 30-day extension, while a Sept. 30 deadline had been recommended by 24 “non-consenting” states, including Connecticut, that have not agreed to settlement terms.
Purdue said the July 30 deadline “balances our compassion for anyone who may have been impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns with the goal of providing the public benefits from a Purdue settlement as soon as possible.”
After having allocated approximately $24 million for a national advertising campaign launched in February that has notified people about the opportunity for claims filing, Purdue has estimated it would incur another $700,000 for the notices with a July 30 deadline.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said, “this (July 30 deadline) is less than we had requested, but an important extension giving all who have been harmed by Purdue additional time to file claims and seek justice.”