The Minnesota Attorney General announced on May 17 that he had added new defendants to the lawsuit that was previously filed against Purdue Pharma. The company manufactures OxyContin, a highly addictive opioid painkiller. He added eight new defendants, one of which is the drug manufacturing company’s former president to the filing.
He first filed suit against Purdue Pharma last year. At the time, he accused the drug manufacturer of having engaged in false advertising, deceptive and unlawful trade practices and consumer fraud.
When asked why he’d added the company’s former president and others as co-defendants to the lawsuit, the Attorney General responded that each of them had helped set Purdue Pharma’s aggressive sales goals. He noted that, as family members to the former president or board members, they were also all well aware of the company’s deceptive marketing tactics.
In a press release regarding the matter, the Attorney General spelled out how it was clear going back as far as 1999 that prescription opioid use could result in addiction. He noted that despite them knowing that information, the defendants continued to push the sale of the drug. He pointed out that their actions have resulted in an epidemic here in Minnesota and the country as a whole.
An attorney for the defendants has said that they consider the Attorney General’s allegations to be baseless. They have also strongly denied the accusations being made against them. A judge presiding over the case previously rejected the defense’s request to dismiss the case. No trial is currently scheduled in the matter.
There’s a lot of money to be made in the prescription drug trade. This often causes unscrupulous business owners to push a medications that may not be fully tested and that may carry certain dangerous side effects.
The law allows consumers who are impacted by false advertising, unlawful trade practices and other types of deception to file suit. A consumer fraud attorney can advise you of the many different legal options that you can pursue in Vadnais Heights.
