(1) What is Purdue Pharma?
Purdue is an opioid manufacturer that sold and marketed opioids including OxyContin, Butrans, Hysingla, and MS Contin, as well as generic forms of oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone. This office sued Purdue and some if its executives, directors, and owners, including members of the Sackler family, in 2018. You can read more about our lawsuit here.
Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019. As part of this bankruptcy, people who were harmed by Purdue submitted Proofs of Claim. The court has now begun to set up a process by which these personal injury claims may be processed and paid.
(2) What is the Purdue Personal Injury Trust (PI Trust)?
The Purdue PI Trust was set up by the bankruptcy court to administer personal injury claims against Purdue. The Trust is responsible for collecting information from people with claims in order to determine whether they are eligible to get paid. You can read more about the Trust at their website (purduepitrust.com), and you can contact them by phone (855-637-5538) or email (purduepitrust@purduepitrust.com).
(3) Who can seek money from the Purdue bankruptcy estate?
Only people who have already filed a Proof of Claim in Purdue’s bankruptcy case are eligible to seek a distribution from the Purdue PI Trust. Generally, the deadline to file Proofs of Claim was July 30, 2020. If you filed a timely Proof of Claim, you should have received a mailing from the PI Trust around May or June 2025 describing what you must do in order to seek payment from the Trust. If you intend to seek payment, you must fill out and submit a Claim Form.
(4) How can I submit Claim Forms?
The Trust is accepting Claim Forms on their website (purduepitrust.com), by email to purduepitrust@purduepitrust.com, by mail to Purdue PI Trust, P.O. Box 361930, Hoover, Alabama, 35236-1930, and by fax to 205-716-2364.
(5) Is there a deadline for submitting Claim Forms?
The deadline for Claim Forms is July 28, 2025. If you plan to mail your form, please allow for additional time as the Trust requires forms to arrive by July 28.
(6) I already filed a Proof of Claim in the bankruptcy. What is the difference between the Proof of Claim I previously filed and the Claim Form I just received?
The Claim Forms seek additional information that you may not have provided with the Proof of Claim. To be eligible for a payment from the Trust, you must submit the Claim Form.
(7) Do I have an NAS or Non-NAS claim?
NAS claims are for people who have been injured due to being exposed to opioids before birth, including those who were diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Non-NAS claims are for people who have been injured due to their own prescribed use of Purdue opioids.
The Trust website includes separate NAS and Non-NAS Claim Forms. The NAS Claim Form requires, among other things, proof demonstrating a diagnosis by a licensed medical provider of a medical, physical, cognitive or emotional condition resulting from the child’s intrauterine exposure to opioids or opioid replacement or treatment medication, including but not limited to neonatal abstinence syndrome. The Non-NAS Claim Form requires, among other things, proof demonstrating usage prior to September 15, 2019 of a prescribed Qualifying Opioid.
(8) How can I show use of “Qualifying Opioids”?
Pages 5-6 of the Non-NAS PI Claim Form explain the type of evidence required to show use of Qualifying Opioids. Pages 9-10 list the Qualifying Opioids.
Individuals that do not have or cannot access a record of their opioid prescriptions from their doctor or pharmacy or did not save the prescription bottle or packaging may be able to obtain a record of their opioid prescriptions from the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program. To obtain opioid prescription records on behalf of another person, including a person who has died, you may be required to provide additional documents, such as documents showing court appointment as a personal representative, estate administrator, or executor for that person.
To obtain your own prescription history, you can make a request using the Personal Data Request Form. To obtain someone else’s prescription history, you can make a request using the Third Party Authorization Data Request Form. Both forms are available at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/request-forms-for-prescription-monitoring-data. Individuals submitting such forms should allow ample time for processing and mailing (i.e., at least two weeks if possible) after the Request Forms are received by the Prescription Monitoring Program.
(9) How can I obtain a copy of a death certificate?
Death certificates are public records that can be requested by anyone. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s website has useful information about where and how to obtain copies of death certificates.
(10) Do I need to hire an attorney to complete the Claim Form?
No. Some individuals may choose to retain attorneys to assist them, but unrepresented individuals can submit Claim Forms.
(11) Does the AG’s Office have a role in administering personal injury claims?
No. The court-appointed Personal Injury Trustee handles claim administration. The AG’s Office does not administer personal injury claims and cannot represent individual claimants.
(12) Who should I contact if I have further questions?
If you have further questions about the Claim Form, you may contact the Unsecured Creditors’ Committee (which represents the interests of all unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy) at purduecreditorinfo@akingump.com, or the Claims Administrator for the Trust at purduepitrust@purduepitrust.com or (855) 637-5538.