Oxycontin Class Action Commenced
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Oxycontin Class Action Commenced

Oxycontin Class Action

TORONTO, June 14 /CNW/ – On June 8, 2007, the law firms of ROCHON | GENOVA LLP and Siskinds LLP issued a class action on behalf of persons in Canada, other than in Québec, who were prescribed and who ingested Oxycontin(R) against the manufacturers of Oxycontin(R), Purdue Pharma, Purdue Pharma Inc., Purdue Frederick Inc., The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. and Purdue Pharma LP (the “Defendants”).

The claim, filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, alleges that the Defendants knew or ought to have known that ingesting Oxycontin(R) leads to drug dependency and addiction. Oxycontin(R) is a narcotic frequently prescribed as a pain-killer. It was approved for use in Canada in 1996. The serious problems associated with ingesting Oxycontin(R) are alleged to have been well-known to the Defendants for several years. In May 2007, Purdue Pharma LP and some of its senior executives agreed to pay over $600 million in penalties in the United States for misleading consumers and physicians about the addictive properties of Oxycontin(R). Some of those senior executives also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States.

The Proposed Representative Plaintiffs include three individuals who were prescribed Oxycontin(R) as a pain medication following serious injuries and who developed addictions and their family members. Colin MacKay said, “Oxycontin(R) cost me my marriage and my kids. I now have to take another drug to help me wean off Oxycontin(R). If I had known that I would develop a drug addiction, I would never have taken this drug.” Sabine Reid, the wife of Tim Reid, who also became addicted to Oxycontin(R), said, “It has been an incredibly painful process to watch my husband develop a drug addiction and now have to go through detoxification. I never thought a pain-killer would have this kind of dangerous effect. It has been devastating.”

“Oxycontin(R) addictions are destructive to the lives of these persons and their families. The worst part of it is that had the manufacturers been forthcoming, these addictions could have been prevented,” said Joel P. Rochon, a partner at ROCHON | GENOVA LLP. Michael Peerless, a partner at Siskinds LLP added, “It is unbelievable that these companies did nothing to prevent the harm to the class members when they knew of the dangers of Oxycontin(R) and, instead, issued false and misleading information. It took a criminal investigation to bring these facts to light.”

The allegations raised in the claim have not yet been proven in court. The plaintiff and the prospective class members are represented by the Toronto based law firm of ROCHON | GENOVA LLP and the London based law firm of Siskinds LLP.

For further information: ROCHON | GENOVA LLP, 121 Richmond St. W, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2K1, Telephone: 416-548-9874, or toll-free: 1-800-462-3864, Website address: www.rochongenova.com ; Siskinds LLP, 680 Waterloo Street, London, ON, N6A 3V8, Tel: (519) 660-7872, Website address: www.siskinds.com.