Kim Gale  |  June 14, 2018

Category: Legal News

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California Counties Suing Drug Companies Over Opioid Addiction and Overdose EpidemicIn May, more than 30 California counties joined a lawsuit against drug companies accused of perpetuating the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic.

Counties across the United States have filed lawsuits against drug companies, who are perceived as placing profits ahead of human lives by falsely portraying narcotic painkillers as safe and not particularly addictive.

County health departments and police departments allegedly have seen their staff and their funding stretched to the breaking point due to the opioid addiction and overdose crisis. They say police, paramedics, and other resources often extend to preventable opioid-related emergencies. These rescue units are then less available to help treat heart attacks, car accidents and other emergency situations.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 52,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2015 either from prescription drug abuse or from heroin.

California’s Marin County filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in an attempt to hold drug companies accountable. Thirty California counties already had joined together to file their own lawsuit in the same court earlier in the year.

Statistics indicate that car accidents are no longer the leading cause of accidental deaths in Marin County. As of 2016, drug overdose became the leading cause of accidental death. The county’s health administration recorded 14 deaths from opioid addiction and overdose that year.

Opioid overdose killed 2,000 Californians in 2016 alone.

Companies Sued for Opioid Addiction and Overdose

Companies that are defendants in lawsuits around the country include:

  • AmerisourceBergen Corp.
  • Cardinal Health
  • Endo International
  • Insys Therapeutics
  • Janssen Pharmaceuticals
  • Mallinckrodt
  • Purdue Pharma
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Noramco
  • Allergan
  • McKesson

Drug companies are accused of convincing doctors that opioids were safe and effective medications to treat long-term pain, such as the chronic pain often seen in patients with back problems and arthritis. In reality, the lawsuits argue, opioids are only safe for short-term pain, such as that experienced after surgery or certain cancer treatments.

Nationwide, patients who never should have been prescribed opioids to begin with have become addicted to the drugs. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 115 people in the United States die each day because of opioid addiction and overdose.

The economic impact is $78.5 billion each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure includes healthcare, lost productivity, treatment for addiction, and criminal justice system costs.

Lawsuits filed by counties and cities across the United States seek repayment of these costs that they say the drug companies fostered. The lawsuits allege that billions of public tax dollars have been spent on attempting to fix a problem that never would have existed in the first place if the drug companies hadn’t convinced doctors to write prescriptions for patients who had long-term pain.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of the opioid addiction and overdose crisis, you could benefit from speaking with a lawyer.

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

If your loved died from an opioid overdose in the last three years from an addiction that began as a legal opioid prescription from his or her doctor, you may have a legal claim. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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