Minnesota has filed a prescription opioid lawsuit against OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, becoming the 26^th state to file a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson recently announced that her office has filed a prescription opioid lawsuit against OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, alleging that the drug manufacturer misrepresented the addiction risks of opioid painkillers.

The prescription opioid lawsuit claims that Purdue has represented their products and other opioid painkillers as safe, dismissing drug-seeking behaviors as “pseudo-addiction”.

“They quoted an executive of the American Pain Society as falsely claiming there is very little risk of addiction from the proper use of opioids for pain relief,” Swanson said in her statement, “In fact, the risk of addiction from these drugs is very, very high.”

The prescription opioid lawsuit argues that Purdue deceived the public in regards to the risks of OxyContin use in order to drive more doctors to prescribe more of the painkiller to their patients. The drug manufacturer allegedly used sponsored medical education, sales representatives, and other marketing strategies to increase the popularity of OxyContin among prescribing doctors.

“They either published studies or funded studies, or took other people’s studies and disseminated them, that both minimized the risk of opioid addiction, and also blamed addiction on the patient as opposed to the drug,” Swanson argues.

According to Minnesota’s prescription opioid lawsuit, Purdue’s alleged tactics have worked. Since the mid-1990s, Purdue has reportedly sold more than $35 billion in OxyContin. The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy reported that in 2015, Minnesotans received 3.87 million opioid prescriptions. Last year, at least 401 Minnesotans died in relation to opioid overdoses, with half of those deaths caused by prescription painkillers like OxyContin.

Purdue’s allegedly deceptive behavior has promoted 26 states across the country to file similar lawsuits, seeking damages for the costs associated with the growing opioid epidemic. Although Minnesota’s prescription opioid lawsuit has not specified a settlement estimate, Swanson has said that any proceeds from the settlement would go to the state’s treasury. At that point, its usage would be at the discretion of lawmakers, but she hopes that the state will use the money to expand treatment options for Minnesotans struggling with opioid addiction.

In May, Minnesota filed a similar lawsuit against Insys Therapeutics for similar opioid marketing tactics and violating state restrictions which prohibit drug manufacturers from giving gifts to doctors. Swanson has said that her office is investigating the potential for further lawsuits against opioid companies as the state struggles with an opioid epidemic.

Unfortunately, Minnesota’s struggle with opioid addiction is not unique. Across the country, numerous states, countries, and individuals have turned to litigation in an attempt to rectify damages sustained by opioid addiction.

A prescription opioid lawsuit can be filed against a major drug company, an unethical doctor, a pharmacy, or other parties which may have played a part in supporting the opioid epidemic. If you or a loved one have been harmed by opioid overdose, you may be eligible to participate in a prescription opioid lawsuit or class action lawsuit.

In general, opioid overdose death lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

If your loved died from an opioid overdose in the last three years from an addiction that began as a legal opioid prescription from his or her doctor, you may have a legal claim. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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