Oxycontin Makers sued by Kentucky
October 4, 2007
Today Kentucky Attorney General, Greg Stumbo, and Pikes County officials filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the makers of the highly abused painkiller Oxycontin. The drug has come to be called “hillbilly heroin” due to its overwhelming abuse in states like Kentucky and Virginia. The drug is fitted with a time-release coating but resourceful abusers have developed a simple method to circumvent it. The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars worth of reimbursement for prescriptions paid for by Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Assistance program.The plaintiffs are also seeking unspecified punitive damages and compensation for the high cost of drug abuse programs and law enforcement expenses that have been incurred in association with Oxycontin. Six other counties have pledged to join the suit and many others are expected to follow in coming weeks.
