After years of mulling over whether to join in the nationwide opioid litigation, Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons announced Friday that his office is filing a claim against Purdue Pharma L.P. for damages resulting from the opioid epidemic.
“For decades, certain pharmacy companies have poisoned our community, ruined families and so many precious lives in their pursuit of profits from highly addictive, deadly drugs,” Gibbons stated in a press release. “Over the years, families have watched loved ones taken down the dark path of addiction - never to return. Taxpayers have had to pay the bills for the epidemic as our County and local governments have had to endure increased costs for public safety and the heartbreaking costs of responding to overdoses and overdose deaths. All of this was caused by pharmaceutical companies and paid from your taxes, and it’s time these perpetrators pay the families and taxpayers back.”
The claim was filed as part of a "multi-state Purdue litigation." It is unclear if the suit is part of the federal multidistrict opioid litigation pending before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio.
According to a press release, Gibbons recommended that the majority of any money received from the lawsuit should go into a victims’ compensation fund for families of those who die from an overdose. The remainder of the money would be set aside to fund grants for treatment, education and public safety programs.
The release states that the Illinois Attorney General’s Office has been working with state’s attorneys since Illinois sued Purdue Pharma for damages resulting from opioid prescription pain killers, such as OxyContin.
Gibbons has been working with a group of Illinois state’s attorneys and the Attorney General to secure compensation from a settlement with Purdue Pharma, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 due to litigation costs.
Specific amounts to be paid for claims will be determined through a claims management process, which must go through the federal bankruptcy court.
Gibbons is coordinating the opioid claim with Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn, Sheriff John Lakin, the Madison County Health Department and other potentially impacted County Departments.
“My exceptional team of Deputy Coroners has been a first-hand witness to the excruciating pain and suffering of loved ones at the scene of so many opioid overdose deaths,” Nonn stated. “We can never fully replace lost loved ones or repair the harm that has been suffered by so many families and individuals in our community. Their losses are immeasurable.”
“However, by holding the perpetrators accountable and hitting them where it hurts the most, we can secure funding that is desperately needed to provide compensation for those who have lost a loved one, as well as critical funding to help those families still going through the nightmare of opioid addiction and to increase our efforts to prevent future suffering. We need to do everything we can to help those who are suffering and to finally put an end to this horrific chapter in our history,” he continued.
“I am once again calling on our County government to join me as a partner in this effort to support families who have lost a loved one and to restore stolen taxpayer money,” Gibbons added. “We need to help families that have suffered the ultimate loss, as well as those currently engaged in the fight against addiction, and also take necessary steps to prevent others from suffering this same terrible fate. We should be using the settlement funds to support families who have lost a loved one and to pay for treatment, education and public safety efforts. Other local governments in Madison County may be able to file claims, but there is a deadline for filing that is fast approaching. The Civil Division of the State’s Attorney’s Office is available to assist local governments in the claims process.”
The deadline to file claims with the MDL was recently extended to July 30. Approximately 85,000 claims have already been filed with the court.