The legal guardian of a baby born addicted to opiates has filed suit against a host of companies that make and market the drugs.

Although the drugs are legal with a prescription, the drug companies allegedly hid the likelihood of addiction for patients taking them for chronic pain.

Three Tennessee District Attorneys represent the baby and the baby’s legal guardian in the case against Purdue Pharma, L.P.; Purdue Pharma, Inc.; The Purdue Frederick Company; Mallinckrodt PLC; Endo Health Solutions, Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc; Center Pointe Medical Clinical, LLC; Elizabeth and Bowers Campbell; and Pamela Moore.

The defendants are collectively known as the Manufacturer Defendants and stand accused of misleading doctors and the public about the addictive nature of opioid drugs.

The lawsuit of the baby born addicted to opiates alleges, “The Manufacturer Defendants spent years engaged in a fraudulent scheme to push their wares into a market of unsuspecting doctors and patients. When it became clear that entire regions of the country were being devastated by addiction to these drugs, the Manufacturer Defendants turned a blind eye to the problems and collected millions of dollars in ill-gotten profits.”

Pain Endured by Baby Born Addicted to Opiates

The baby’s mother, referenced in the opiod lawsuit as Mary Doe, became addicted to opiates when she began taking them illegally at parties. She was soon taking the pills daily to stave off withdrawal.

In 2011, Mary was in a serious car accident that left her with a broken ankle and leg injuries. She endured multiple surgeries as doctors placed pins in her leg to repair her broken bones. During that time, she was in so much pain that her doctor prescribed the opioid Lortab for her.

Her doctor didn’t screen her for opiate dependence or abuse before he prescribed the addictive drug, which she took twice as often as prescribed without her doctor’s knowledge.

Once Mary was out of Lortab (hydrocodone) and no longer had a valid prescription, she turned to Oxycontin (oxycodone) and Roxicodone (oxycodone) that she obtained through other sources.

Mary had been addicted to opiates for nearly four years when she found out she was pregnant. Her unborn child was addicted as well.

The baby was born addicted to opiates, “diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and forced to endure a painful start to his life; crying excessively, arching his back, refusing to feed, and shaking.”

Allegedly, as a result of the Manufacturing Defendants’ “fraudulent scheme, Mary Doe’s community in the Appalachian region of Tennessee was awash in opioids, fueling a dramatic increase in those exposed to and addicted to OxyContin, Roxicodone, Opana, and other opioids.”

The Manufacturing Defendants allegedly marketed opiates for the treatment of chronic pain, even though no scientific evidence suggests the drugs are effective to alieve chronic pain.

In 2013, Dr. Igor Kissin of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School reviewed existing reports of opiates and found that “not a single randomized controlled trial with opioid treatment lasting (greater than) 3 months was found.”

This Opiates Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-00122-TAV-MCLC in the Circuit Court for Sullivan County at Kingsport, Tenn.

In general, opioid addiction lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual opioid addictino lawsuit or opioid addiction class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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