PERRY HALL, Md. — "These families... we're all just numbers to them," said Toni Torsch talking about drug companies.
Her son, Daniel, overdosed when he was 24.
"Still nine years later I can't describe it that immense, overwhelming pain," Torsch said.
Now, she runs the Daniel Carl Torsch Foundation to help addicts with treatment and recovery.
"Recovery is possible, it happens every day," she said.
Since she's so active in the community, she follows new development in the opioid crisis. Monday morning was supposed to be the first federal trial on the opioid crisis. Instead, four drug companies and two Ohio counties agreed to a $260 million settlement. Something Torsch wasn't surprised happened.
"What company wants to see the faces of parents, of family members testifying how the drug epidemic destroyed their lives," said Torsch.
She wishes these families would have gotten the chance to testify.
"They need to have some type of closure, if there is such a thing, when there's a death like that," Torsch said. "For the families that are still struggling, they are still struggling, they're in chaos. They need to be able to say to the people who started all of this and they did it through lie and deceit. They need to see those families. They need to look them in the eyes."
Torsch said the only positive is that settlement money can help families in need.
