Comment on Purdue Pharma may not be off hook

Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in the first step in a complex, multibillion-dollar plan by the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against it by state and local governments over the nation’s deadly opioid disaster.The company and members of the Sackler family, which owns it, expressed sympathy but not responsibility.“Like families across America, we have deep compassion for the victims of the opioid crisis,” family members said in a statement, calling the settlement plan a “historic step towards providing critical resources that address a tragic public health situation.”But the bankruptcy filing, made late Sunday, may not get either the drugmaker or the Sacklers off the legal hook.About half the states and lawyers representing at least 1,000 local governments have agreed to the tentative settlement, which the company says could be worth $10 billion to $12 billion over time and would include at least $3 billion from the Sacklers.Iowa was not among the states that were part of this agreement.Under the settlement, the family would give up control of the company, and Purdue Pharma would be transformed into a sort of hybrid between a corporation and a charity.