OPIOID LAWSUIT WHITEPAPER

About Opioid Lawsuit

Opioids are a type of pharmaceutical drug that triggers the nerve cells in the brain and body to relieve pain from mild to severe. They act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects on the patient. In order to get legal versions of opioids, the drug must be prescribed by a licensed medical professional or doctor.

In addition to providing pain relief, they also produce a type of euphoria which can become attractive to users and eventually lead to addiction.

The following are the most common opioids:

• Buprenorphine
• Butorphanol
• Codeine
• Fentanyl
• Oxycodone
• Methadone

After years of use, many are now filing lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of opioids for various reasons. First, that the companies downplayed how addictive these pharmaceuticals could be when heavily marketed them. Next, is for claiming they did not know opioids were addictive, but later admitting they were aware the drugs were highly addictive. And finally, there are many doctors involved in these lawsuits from allegedly being paid by the drug manufacturers to push and prescribe these drugs to patients. Additionally, distributors are also being prosecuted for aggressively marketing opioid drugs without auditing or control of the distribution of opioids. 

Opioid Associated Injuries

The following are the most common alleged injuries reported in the opioid lawsuits:

• Tolerance With Continued Use
• Dependence With Continued Use
• Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)
• Addiction
• Overdose
• Death

Opioid Status of Litigation

The current MDL established for the consolidated opioid cases is being held in the U.S. Northern District of Ohio MDL #2804. There have been no verdicts or known personal injury settlements at this time. In 2019, Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy. The deadline for filing proofs of claim against the debtors was July 2020. There have been multiple settlements with several states.

Opioid Manufacturers

The following are the manufacturers, distributors, and other companies currently acting as defendants in the opioid lawsuits:

• AmerisourceBergen
• Cardinal Health
• Teva
• McKesson
• Mallinckrodt
• Purdue Pharma
• Cardinal Health
• Walgreens
• CVS
• Rite Aid
• Walmart
• Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc
• Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc
• Cephalon, Inc.
• Allergan plc
• Johnson & Johnson