Opioid Victims Confront Purdue Pharma's Sacklers In U.S. Court

Victims of America's opioid epidemic confronted members of the Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma on Thursday with wrenching stories of suffering they said was caused by the painkillers that built the company fortune.

"You got rich off our dead bodies and told us it was our own fault for dying," Ryan Hampton told Richard Sackler, a former board member, during a Zoom hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The emotional two-hour court hearing stemmed from a $6 billion settlement between the Sacklers and state attorneys general that could resolve claims over the family's role in the crisis without taking them to trial.

Purdue Pharma allegedly downplayed the addiction risks of its OxyContin painkiller, helping to fuel a healthcare crisis that has claimed 500,000 overdose deaths over two decades.

Members of the Sackler family have denied wrongdoing. They said last week in a statement that they "sincerely regret" that OxyContin "unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis."

The 26 speakers came from 19 states. They were chosen by the official committee that represents creditors in Purdue's bankruptcy, including the thousands of people who filed personal injury claims against Purdue Pharma. They came from all walks of life, and their stories of loss included personal addiction and the deaths of family members through overdose and suicide.

Hampton was one of the first victims to address Richard Sackler, his son David Sackler and Theresa Sackler.

The Sacklers could not respond to the victims' statements. David and Theresa Sackler appeared on video, while Richard listened to victims statements over the phone.

Hampton singled out Richard Sackler for blame, saying he hoped the faces of the victims would haunt his dreams. "I hope you hear the screams of the families who find their loved ones overdosing on the bathroom floor," Hampton said.

While many U.S. overdose deaths were caused by illicit drugs such at heroin and fentanyl, often victims became addicted to opioids through prescription pain medicines such as OxyContin.

One mother said on Thursday that her son died of a drug overdose at the age of 21, and that he initially became addicted after being prescribed OxyContin for a high school sports injury.

Richard Sackler told the bankruptcy court in August that the family did not bear responsibility for the crisis. At the same hearing, his son David testified that the family has a "moral responsibility" to help curb the opioid epidemic.

Both served as Purdue board members along with several other members of the family and have been named in lawsuits alleging they directed deceptive marketing of addictive painkillers.

Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, and the court extended to the Sacklers legal protections from being sued - one of the main benefits of seeking bankruptcy - despite the family members never filing for bankruptcy themselves.

That controversial protection is being challenged in court by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The $6 billion legal settlement also requires millions of pages of internal company documents be made public.