SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

The television commercial begins simply: “This is a legal alert for the users of Xarelto.” Lawyers, the narrator says, are reviewing claims that the blood-thinning drug can cause “severe bleeding or hemorrhaging, stroke or even death.” If affected, viewers are advised to call a number on the screen. “You may have a case,” the speaker intones.

It began on Dec. 10, 1966, at a courthouse in Beaumont, Texas.

When West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw sued drug maker PurduePharma over misrepresentation of its pain killer OxyContin, he petitioned the court saying, "This action involves the impact of State action against one of the most vulnerable and dependant sections of West Virginia society, the elderly and disabled."