A judge is being asked to clear the way for local governments and individual victims to vote on OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids.

Fifty-five attorneys general around the country have now signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with drugmaker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, over the opioid crisis, officials said.

The multi-billion-dollar payment is meant to resolve claims that the drugmaker's pain medication, OxyContin, caused an opioid crisis.