Standing on the steps of B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Supreme Court in Vancouver Wednesday, Attorney General David Eby announced that the province is headed to court to make drug companies pay for an opioid crisis that has claimed thousands of lives since 2016.
Eby and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy said B.C. is launching a class-action lawsuit against more than 40 opioid manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors.
sa国际传媒淭his morningsa国际传媒� we have initiated a class action lawsuit against the different manufacturers and distributors of brand name and generic opioid medications in order to recover the public health care costs we allege were increased dramatically by their actions,sa国际传媒� said Eby.
sa国际传媒淲e cansa国际传媒檛 yet know precisely the financial costs incurred by B.C. as a result of the actions of these firms. The cost is rising everyday.sa国际传媒�
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Nearly 900 people have died as a result of opioid-related overdoses in 2018 alone, and more than 3,300 have died since the average death toll nearly doubled in 2016.
The province will seek to recoup sa国际传媒渢he cost of treating problematic use and addiction, the cost of emergency services in response to overdose events, the cost of hospital treatment and so on.sa国际传媒�
: BC govt confirms that it is filing a lawsuit against the opioid industry. AG David Eby and Judy Darcy are announcing the news now.
sa国际传媒� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
Eby referred to a 2007 agreed statement of fact signed by pharmaceutical giant Purdue Frederick with the U.S. Attorneysa国际传媒檚 Office in the Western District of Virginia.
The statement acknowledges that sa国际传媒渃ertain Purdue supervisors and employees, with the intent to defraud or mislead, marketed and promoted OxyContin as less addictive, less subject to abuse and diversion, and less likely to cause tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications.sa国际传媒�
The illegal actions sa国际传媒渄ramatically increased company profits,sa国际传媒� Eby said, and is the basis for the suit launched by B.C.
sa国际传媒淲e allege that Purdue is not alone in their illegal actions to drive profits,sa国际传媒� he said.
The province filed its statement of claim Wednesday morning, and Eby said they are speaking with other provinces about collaborating on a larger suit.
Eby noted that sa国际传媒渢his litigation does not attempt to recover any damages for any family members affected by wrongdoing,sa国际传媒� but simply to cover the costs born by the health care system as a result of the overdose crises.
The lawsuit goes hand-in-hand with an opioid damages and health-care costs recovery act to be introduced in B.C.sa国际传媒檚 legislature this fall, Darcy said.
sa国际传媒淲e know that no amount of money from this action can possibly make up for the loss of someonesa国际传媒檚 child, someonesa国际传媒檚 partner or someonesa国际传媒檚 friend,sa国际传媒� said Darcy.
sa国际传媒淒eceptive marketing practices by opioid manufacturers to increase demand for their product without regard to the consequences on peoplesa国际传媒檚 lives is the target of our actions today.sa国际传媒�
| Attorney General David Eby and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy explain the details of a class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Wednesday. (Katya Slepian/Black Press Media) |
Darcy acknowledged that while many opioids do have legitimate medical purposes, sa国际传媒渢here is sufficient evidencesa国际传媒� that pharmaceutical companies knowingly and aggressively marketed these drugs to physicians and to the public well after they knew that there were risks attached to them.sa国际传媒�
She was unable to provide a figure for the number of victims of medically-prescribed opioids versus those killed by a tainted street supply of drugs.
sa国际传媒淐ertainly, the majority of people who are dying today of overdoses are dying as a result of street drugs that are laced with fentanyl,sa国际传媒� Darcy admitted.
sa国际传媒淏ut today we are clearly saying that pharmaceutical companies must take responsibility for their role and put the lives of people before profit.sa国际传媒�
Darcy said the province is investigating how many people who were first prescribed opioids by a doctor have since switched to street drugs to quench their addiction.
sa国际传媒淭his is the worst public health emergency,sa国际传媒� Judy Darcy says. Mental Health + Addictions ministers says that her heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones.
sa国际传媒� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
sa国际传媒淲e know that no amount of money can make up for the loss of someonesa国际传媒檚 child, someonesa国际传媒檚 loved ones.
Eby said that Wednesdaysa国际传媒檚 class-action suit was modelled on a similar suit against tobacco companies in 1998.
Although Eby admitted that the tobacco lawsuit remains tied up in the courts nearly two decades after it began, he said the province has learned lessons from that case.
sa国际传媒淲e do understand that these types of claims are defended aggressively by the firms that are targeted but that is no reason for us not to pursue cases where we believe that people have failed to take actions in a way that harmed British Columbians,sa国际传媒� Eby said.
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