Other Lawsuits Keep Coming: Six States Sue Purdue Pharma for Opioid Addiction Costs

(Summer 2018) Separate from the massive federal case being heard in Cleveland, Attorneys General in Texas, Nevada, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and North Dakota all filed suits in state courts this spring against Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin®. They charge that the company sold opioid drugs even though it was aware that users had a high risk of addiction. Florida’s suit named an additional four drug makers and four distributors.

This is not the first time Texas, Nevada, North Carolina and Tennessee have sued Purdue Pharma. In 2007, the drug company settled with 26 states and the District of Columbia when blamed for heavily marketing OxyContin® to physicians while brushing aside the chances of addiction. At that time, Purdue Pharma settled out of court for a total of $19.5 million but refused to take any accountability for wrongdoing.

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