1,000 Individual Oxycontin Cases Filed In New York Court

By Elizabeth Rhein

Published on August 30, 2005

Each one of these so-called "accidental addicts" maintains that Purdue Pharma failed to adequately warn them and their physicians about how addictive the painkiller can be.

Oxycontin is a powerful derivative of opium that, when abused, produces the same numbing high as morphine and heroin; even when used as directed under the guidance of a physician, the drug can quickly cause dependence in users.

In the past, the various effects of the drug made class-action litigation difficult to organize; now, a panel of judges at the Richmond County Courthouse in Staten Island has decided to allow all 1,000 cases to consolidate. This is different from a class-action lawsuit because each individual case will be tried separately, rather than being considered together for a large lump settlement.

The cases against Purdue Pharma follow another appellate court decision involving Oxycontin; in that case, it was shown that Purdue falsified information to obtain a patent on the drug.

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