Abraham Jewett  |  September 10, 2021

Category: Drugs

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Purdue Pharma
(Photo Credit: JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock)

Purdue Pharma Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

  • Who: Canada’s 10 provincial governments are asking a judge to lift an injunction protecting Purdue Pharma from class action. 
  • Why: Purdue Pharma received an injunction protecting it from class action lawsuits alleging it contributed to the opioid crisis, after filing for bankruptcy in 2019. 
  • Where: The class action lawsuits would affect Canadians nationwide.

Canada’s provincial governments are ready to take action against Purdue Pharma, following the company’s multi-billion dollar bankruptcy settlement agreement in the United States.

The bankruptcy settlement stipulates that Purdue will transition into a new company under separate ownership, while its current owners, members of the Sackler family, must shell out $4.5 billion of their own money, reports The Globe and Mail

The bankruptcy settlement comes two years after Purdue sought and received an injunction in the US and Canada while filing for bankruptcy in September 2019. 

Provincial governments are now asking for a court order to lift the injunction that has halted legal proceedings in Canada against Purdue, so that they can pursue billions of dollars worth of their own claims, according to The Globe and Mail. 

Purdue has been under siege for years from thousands of class action lawsuits lobbied against them by families in the US and Canada affected by an ongoing opioid crisis which has taken more than 500,000 lives in the US. 

Lawyers for the provinces — which have filed claims against Purdue totalling $67.4 billion in regard to the opioid crisis — are set to appear at an Ontario court on Sept. 21 to pursue damages once again, reports The Globe and Mail. 

The provinces are claiming they are entitled to restitution for the healthcare costs they have incurred because of the opioid crisis which they allege Purdue is responsible for on account of its commitment to OxyContin, which it released 25 years ago before pulling in 2012. 

Other powerful drugs, such as fentanyl, have filled the void left by OxyContin and help continue a crisis which has claimed 21,174 lives in Canada between January 2016 and December 2020.

The provinces had agreed with Purdue on a $20 million settlement in 2017 — with $2 million going to the governments and $18 million going to victims families — but Canadian court judges refused to approve the settlement, saying they were concerned it would set a bad precedent since the amount was so small. 

The Alberta town of Grande Prairie filed a class action lawsuit last year against more than 40 drug manufacturers it accused of fueling the opioid crisis

A Canadian doctor filed a separate class action lawsuit against multiple pharmaceutical companies in 2019, alleging they should be held accountable for their roles in perpetuating the opioid crisis

Have you been affected by the opioid crisis and feel Purdue Pharma should be held responsible? Let us know in the comments!


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2 thoughts onProvincial Governments Take Aim At Purdue Pharma Following US Settlement

  1. Amy Adams says:

    Yes I have been affected by losing loved ones to opioids and I am directly affected because I have a opioid dependency which has almost taken my life a few times now separate circumstances with both.

  2. Kevin Nelson says:

    Add me please

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