The Supreme Court of BC has certified a demand for collective action throughout the Canada against the McKinsey & Company consulting firm as part of the legal efforts of the province to recover the medical care costs related to the toxic drug crisis.
In a sentence published on Friday, the province alleges that the company advised opioid manufacturers and helped design advertising campaigns that led to the excessive prescription of opioids.
The collective claim requested by the provincial government, in which it would act as a main plaintiff, on behalf of other provinces and the federal government, is closely related to another similar demand that the province is pursuing against pharmaceutical companies for its alleged role in the illegal drug crisis.
The poisoned drug epidemic declared a public health emergency in the province in April 2016, and more than 16,000 people have died in BC since then.
According to the province, McKinsey helped design campaigns for Canadian pharmaceutical companies that made false statements about opioids to prescribers and the public, which finally caused an excess of prescription of addictive medications and damaged those who used them.
While Judge Michael Brundrett did not agree with all the arguments of the province, he discovered that there was enough in his case to proceed to a full -class action hearing.
“While I recognize the importance of individual problems, I evaluate that the set of common problems proposed will advance significantly in the judicial economy,” he wrote in his judgment.
The province, on behalf of other jurisdictions, and McKinsey will now proceed to a trial where the province seeks to recover the costs of medical, pharmaceutical and treatment care.
For his part, McKinsey said the complaint had no merit and that he would defend himself in court.
“McKinsey & Company did not undertake any work in Canada related to the sale or marketing of opioids,” said a spokesman in an email.
Alaga Conspiracy Province
When trying to certify a collective claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the alleged damage caused are shared by a group of others, and that the common problems of the group must be heard only once.
The provincial government affirmed to the Court that McKinsey’s actions and advice were consistent in the United States and Canada.
McKinsey has already admitted to having participated in an American lawsuit regarding the promotion of opioids in that country, in which he agreed to pay $ 600 million for claims about Purdue Pharma’s statements to encourage the opioid recipe.
In addition to linking McKinsey’s actions with Purdue Canada, the province also claimed that McKinsey consulting, north of the border, included work for other Janssen opioid distributors, Endo and McKeson.
Judge Brundrett wrote that the theory of the province was that McKinsey was “the” effective hand in the glove “for the inadequate promotion of opioid manufacturing.”
The judge pointed out that the consulting firm had raised serious problems on whether their actions had promoted the use of recipes in Canada or not.
“Certification does not imply an evaluation of merits and is not a pronouncement on the viability or force of action,” the judge wrote.
“The result of the certification is not predictive of the result of the common problems in the trial.”
AG says demand on responsibility
BC attorney general Niki Sharma said that the action, on behalf of other jurisdictions, was part of his work to hold companies responsible and recover damage on behalf of taxpayers.
“This is part of a great demand so that we can recover what taxpayers had to pay since 1996, due to health impacts on so many people and the tragic losses we have suffered in this province,” he told CBC News.
Leslie Mcbain, who lost his son Jordan for an oxycodone overdose in 2014, said that companies that marketed opioids in an irresponsible way should be responsible.
However, the defender and the founder of the mothers stop the damage said that governments should dedicate their attention to addressing the toxic drug crisis in progress.
“On the one hand. I’m glad to hear this news,” he said about the demand. “But on the other hand, it does not solve anything at this time.”
