ProPublica and The Philadelphia Inquirer have launched a joint investigation into how individual opioid victims have been compensated for addiction and other harm under court-appointed bankruptcy trusts funded by the drugmakers Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt and Endo. The news organizations are asking affected individuals to share their experiences seeking payments from these trusts, which were established as part of bankruptcy proceedings involving companies linked to the prescription-opioid crisis.
The investigation centers on tens of billions of opioid pills distributed throughout the United States during the height of the prescription-opioid epidemic. Reporters Craig R. McCoy and Bob Fernandez previously covered Endo's bankruptcy for ProPublica and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and have most recently examined how Purdue's new bankruptcy plan affects victims seeking compensation for harm allegedly caused by its drugs.
What the Left Is Saying
Consumer advocates and victim rights groups say opioid settlement trusts are a critical mechanism for delivering restitution to individuals harmed by pharmaceutical companies. They argue that transparent reporting on trust distributions serves the public interest, particularly given the scale of the crisis and the number of people affected.
Organizations representing opioid victims have called for greater transparency in how bankruptcy trusts allocate funds. They note that many claimants have faced lengthy delays and complex paperwork requirements when seeking compensation through these court-administered mechanisms. Advocates say investigative journalism plays an important role in ensuring accountability from both the drugmakers funding the trusts and the administrators distributing payments.
What the Right Is Saying
Some legal experts note that bankruptcy proceedings involving opioid cases are extraordinarily complex, with multiple competing claims on limited assets. They argue that trust distributions involve difficult judgments about how to allocate funds among thousands of claimants with varying degrees of harm.
Critics of expansive litigation against pharmaceutical companies have raised concerns about the broader impact of opioid-related bankruptcies on employees, shareholders and communities served by these firms. They note that bankruptcy proceedings are governed by established legal frameworks designed to balance creditor interests fairly, and suggest that outside investigations should respect those processes.
What the Numbers Show
Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 amid thousands of lawsuits alleging its OxyContin marketing contributed to the opioid epidemic. The company has proposed multiple reorganization plans, with courts still reviewing the latest proposal. Mallinckrodt, one of the largest generic drug manufacturers, filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020 after facing substantial opioid-related liability. Endo International also sought bankruptcy protection as it faced similar litigation.
The scale of the opioid crisis is significant: federal data shows that more than 247 million prescriptions for opioids were dispensed in the United States in 2013 alone at the peak of prescription opioid availability. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that opioid overdoses have contributed to hundreds of thousands of American deaths over the past two decades.
The Bottom Line
ProPublica and The Philadelphia Inquirer are actively seeking input from individuals who have interacted with bankruptcy trusts established by Purdue, Mallinckrodt or Endo. Those wishing to share their experiences can contact the news organizations through ProPublica's Get Involved platform. The investigation aims to provide transparency on how settlement trust distributions affect individual claimants navigating compensation for opioid-related harm.