The opioid addiction epidemic that we have all been hearing about for years looks as if it may become the single largest litigation case in history. Drugmakers are facing over 2,500 lawsuits from individual states and cities over the addiction of their citizens. According to a source, five major drugmakers are following a tactic used by carmakers to absolve liability by contributing money to a trust that could be paid out to plaintiffs of the lawsuits. The number of money that would be contributed is still unknown. The key part of this strategy is that the five drugmakers would be avoiding bankruptcy themselves by capitalizing on the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma. The sooner a settlement is reached, the sooner funds will be available for the treatment of victims of this terrible crisis. While it is painful to see the possibility of these companies absolving liability and continuing to operate, their continuation is much less important than the treatment for those affected. 

Background on opioid crisis: https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/22786464

News about litigation progress: https://www.wsj.com/articles/drugmakers-look-to-use-purdue-pharmas-bankruptcy-to-settle-opioid-suits-11569877871?mod=hp_lead_pos5&mod=article_inline&mod=hp_lead_pos3

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