OxyContin
In cooperation with the Wagners Law Firm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ches Crosbie Barristers commenced an innovative class action against the narcotic's manufacturer Purdue Pharma on September 26, 2007, in which the firm represents a subclass of residents of Newfoundland and Labrador in a class action filed in Halifax. The class action suit alleges that the narcotic maker is guilty of deceit in the marketing of the painkiller OxyContin and claims a monetary remedy on behalf of residents of Atlantic Canada who were legally prescribed the drug, including those who developed dependency or addiction issues. The class action has been launched in Halifax in alliance with law firms representing provincial subclasses in New Brunswick, PEI, and this law firm in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ches Crosbie Barristers represents Newfoundland and Labrador clients in this made-in-Atlantic Canada legal solution.The proposed representative plaintiff for the Newfoundland and Labrador subclass is George Critchley. Mr. Critchley was prescribed OxyContin in 1998 as a result of back injuries received in a motor vehicle accident which occurred while he was carrying out his duties as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He remained on OxyContin until 2002.
The nature and scope of Purdue Pharma's deceit in the marketing of OxyContin became publicly known only in May 2007, when the company and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty in Federal Court in Virginia to criminal charges that it had misled doctors and patients when it claimed the drug was less likely to be abused than traditional narcotics. Before the guilty plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney, Purdue Pharma had successfully covered up its misdeeds and obtained dismissal of over a thousand OxyContin related lawsuits in the United States.
The company agreed to pay over $600 million in fines and other payments to settle the charge of misbranding OxyContin. This is one of the largest amounts ever paid by a drug company in such a case. OxyContin is a powerful and long acting narcotic that delivers effective control of serious pain for up to 12 hours. Purdue Pharma claimed that OxyContin, because of its time-release formulation, posed a lower threat of abuse and addiction to patients than other, faster-acting painkillers like Percocet or Vicodine. An aggressive and misleading marketing campaign pushed sales of OxyContin to over $1 billion per year. The drug manufacturer heavily promoted OxyContin to doctors like general practitioners, who sometimes were under-trained and under-resourced in treating serious pain or in diagnosing drug abuse. By 2000, soaring rates of addiction and crime related to use of OxyContin became obvious in parts of the United States, particularly in rural areas.
This pattern repeated itself in Atlantic Canada, particularly in Cape Breton and in Newfoundland and Labrador. The scope of the problem created in this province was discussed in the OxyContin Task Force Final Report, June 30, 2004. The report noted that the bulk of OxyContin on the streets originated with prescriptions generated in the province and has led to an increase in the number of pharmacy break and enters, armed robberies at pharmacies, break and enters at homes targeted for OxyContin, personal robberies with violence, and shoplifting rings operating in St. John's for the purpose of obtaining OxyContin. There has also been a surge in deaths related to drug overdoses. This report may be found at: http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/publications/oxyfinal/OxyContinFinalReport.pdf.
Information on OxyContin related adverse reactions as collected by Health Canada may be found at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/databasdon/agreement_accord_e.html General information on OxyContin related issues in Canada may be found at http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012610
If you think you may be eligible to join the class action, please contact Sheri Geehan at (709) 579-4000 or (888) 579-3262.
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Ches Crosbie Barristers
169 Water Street
St. John's, NL
A1C 1B1
Phone: (709) 579-4000
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