Judge Rules Chicago Can Proceed with Suit Against Opioid Makers

U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso has ruled that the City of Chicago’s lawsuit against six manufacturers of opioid painkillers can go forward.

The suit states that products like OxyContin and Percocet, and generics like oxycodone and hydrocodone, “should be used as a treatment of last resort.”

The decision comes six months after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against four of the five drugmakers by the city.

Pfizer, one of the companies named in the original suit, agreed to a deal with the city to communicate all risks of opioids in future advertisements.