The multi-billion dollar lawsuit, filed by seven former Oxycontin users and relatives of former users, seeks class-action status. It names as defendants Purdue Frederick Co., Purdue Pharma L.P. and Purdue Pharma Inc., all based in Stamford, Conn.; Abbott Laboratories Inc. and Abbott Laboratories, both based in Chicago, Ill.; and doctors Richard Norton and Shireen Brohi.

OxyContin is prescribed for terminal cancer patients and chronic pain sufferers. But the drug is highly addictive and also has been widely misused, leading to at least 120 overdose deaths throughout the United States. "What has happened is an atrocity," said Dawn Stewart of Henrichsen Siegel, a Washington law firm representing the plaintiffs. "We have reason to believe there could be potentially thousands affected by OxyContin."

The lawsuit seeks $5.2 billion in compensatory damages, ongoing medical monitoring for patients using the drug, and the creation of addiction rehabilitation facilities.

Recently, the state of West Virginia sued the makers of OxyContin for trying to convince doctors to prescribe the drug without warning of its potential risk.

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