Geoff Mulvihill, Kavish Harjai and Samantha Hendrickson teamed up to tally total opioid settlements in the U.S., then used the start of that spending to anchor a story around families and advocates seeking a voice in how the money is used.
Leveraging his extensive knowledge of opioid litigation, New Jersey-based state government reporter Mulvihill worked with Los Angeles data reporter Harjai to arrive at settlements — both proposed and finalized — of more than $40 billion so far. That number was broken down in a graphic showing the estimated amount for each state.
As billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlements start flowing to governments,affected families and advocates are pushing for more say in how it's spent. Proposed and finalized settlements so far total more than $40 billion, according to an @AP tally. https://t.co/0u1ZI4siL3
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 23, 2022
Mulvihill and Ohio reporter Samantha Hendrickson — who,like Harjai,is a Report for America corps member — then sensitively interviewed advocates and affected loved ones on the front lines of loss, delivering a forward-looking story on how the settlement money might be spent and who gets a say in those decisions. Many fear they won’t be heard on the state-level panels recommending or deciding on the use of the funds.
The piece was published the same day advocates went to Washington for the White House Recovery Month Summit,where they met with Doug Emhoff,husband of Vice President Kamala Harris,and others. Photographer Carolyn Kaster made images of an advocacy bus tour outside the White House; Sacramento’s Rich Pedroncelli had photographed the tour at California’s Capitol two weeks earlier.
Mulvihill also put together a tip sheet with the state-by-state data, resources and suggestions to help AP member newsrooms localize the policies and processes around this ongoing nationwide story for their readers.