Opioid Lawsuits
Throughout the United States of America, opioids are responsible for the deaths of approximately 136 people each day. Along with the loss of lives, the epidemic has wreaked havoc on healthcare and prison systems throughout the country.
To cover these costs and lead residents on the path to recovery, local governments need financial assistance.
Opioid litigation is resolved through a legal process known as mass torts, where multiple jurisdictions take legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors. These lawsuits claim that drug companies were aware of the highly addictive nature of the drug yet marketed it and sold them as a safe option for those with severe and chronic pain.
Who is involved in opioid litigation?
Over the years, there have been multiple opioid litigation cases that have involved opioid manufacturers, drug distributors, and even retailers.
Each of these parties have been accused of contributing in some form to the opioid crisis by withholding information about the addictive nature of prescription opioids, falsifying marketing efforts, or not following strict legal regulations when filling prescriptions for customers.
Drug manufacturers in these litigation cases include Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Endo.
Distributors, including McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health, have also faced legal action. More surprisingly, top retailers like Costco, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens are included in the opioid litigation cases as well.
On the other side of opioid litigations is the federal government, along with many state and local jurisdictions. The claims made from these parties accuse manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of the same actions.
Manufacturers have been accused of not releasing information about the addictive nature of opioids. Distributors and retailers more commonly face claims of not abiding by the CSA.
McKinsey & Co. Opioid Lawsuits Are Separate
In the current MDL opioid lawsuits, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ruled that the McKinsey & Co. case must be tried separately from the current lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.
Although the lawsuits are similar in terms of claims and facts, the deciding factor was one of timing. Merging the case with the existing MDL three and a half years into litigation would place McKinsey and their legal team at a severe disadvantage compared to others who have been present throughout all of the legal proceedings.
McKinsey & Co. is currently the subject of 17 different lawsuits and more than 20 other legal actions related to their distribution of opioids. These legal proceedings have been brought forth by 11 local governments, which has warranted a separate MDL.
The allegations against McKinsey & Co. include claims of negligence, misrepresentation, fraud, and public nuisance, among others. It is likely that the case will end with a settlement comparable to those in the past, but negotiations will continue as the MDL case against the company continues to progress through the courts.
Background on the Opioid Crisis in America
In the early 1990s, Purdue Pharma introduced a new sustained-release version of an opioid medication. This medication, known as OxyContin, was marketed heavily by manufacturers and distributors to prescribing doctors.
The information in the marketing materials stated that OxyContin was a safe and effective way to treat chronic pain. All of these organizations heavily stressed that the medication was highly effective and safe with a very low risk of developing a dependency on the drug.
Doctors and their patients who were prescribed OxyContin accepted these claims and believed the drug was a good solution to provide relief from pain.
Despite this, Purdue Pharma had information that indicated these claims were false. In fact, OxyContin was discovered to be a highly addictive medication. They failed to release this information and continued to market the drug as safe.
Over the years, doctors continued to prescribe these medications. This is largely because of the structure of the American healthcare system: insurance companies will pay for pain medications, but they typically do not cover other forms of pain management.
The medications initially helped relieve the pain of patients, but over time, these patients became immune to the pain-reducing effects. In turn, they required increasing doses of the medication to achieve the same level of pain management.
Eventually, this led to widespread misuse and over-prescribing of OxyContin. The number of deaths involving overdoses began to rise along with the number of infants born with withdrawal symptoms after being exposed to the medication in utero.
Those who relied on opioids for pain management began to realize that they experienced significant withdrawal symptoms after finishing their prescribed medications. The withdrawal symptoms of prescription opioids are severe and unpleasant, leading many to seek more pills or other forms of opioids, like heroin.
Heroin is far less expensive than gaining access to OxyContin without a prescription and is easily accessible in most areas. One study of heroin addicts shows that as many as 80% of users were led to the drug after experiencing an addiction to prescription painkillers.
By 2010, the opioid epidemic was fully established. Its reach has been far and wide; opioid abuse has affected all ages, genders, and races throughout the country. More than 500,000 lives have been lost due to overdoses involving opioids since 1999, and many more are still battling the effects of opioid addiction. Whether they are struggling with addiction themselves or have friends or family members fighting for their lives to break free from the grips of opioids, there is no denying the immeasurable pain and suffering caused at the hands of negligent manufacturers, distributors, and even retailers.
While opioid litigation will not end the epidemic by itself, the lawsuits have made great strides in reducing the number of opioids that are prescribed.
Likewise, the settlements that have been received and those that will come in the future aim to rebuild devastated communities, create effective treatment programs, and provide mental health support for all of those who have been affected.
Get Help with Opioid Litigation
If your firm needs help in preparing claims for settlement, reach out to Case Works for more information. The opioid litigation is complex and has a time consuming claims process, so contact Case Works today to discuss how we can simplify the process and provide all the necessary documentation for full compensation!
