The city of New Castle, Ind. filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies and distributors for their alleged role in fueling the opioid addiction epidemic.

The 165- page lawsuit, filed on Dec. 13, 2017, targets 23 companies including Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, and Endo Health Solutions, Inc. The opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit accuses the companies of deceptively marketing the drugs’ risks, safety, and use.

The city wants the manufacturers and distributors to pay for the financial burden of the opioid addiction epidemic along with accountability for the increased instance of addiction and drug overdose death.

Plaintiff: Over-Promotion Led to Increase in Drug Overdose Death Rate

According to the opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit, “[o]pioid addiction is ravaging New Castle.” The city alleges that in Henry Country, “the opioid prescription rate per 100 persons in the county for 2016 was 97…” Between 2008 and 2010, the rate peaked at 122 and, in 2012, it peaked at 121.

Accordingly, 9,202,134 opioids were prescribed to patients in 2016, the opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit states. And, between 2012-2015, out of every 100,000 people, the drug overdose death rate was 21.90.

“A dramatic increase in the use of prescription opioid pain medications, brought on by manufacturer Defendants’ deceptive marketing campaign and Defendants’ failure to identify, report, and stop suspicious orders of those medications, has caused this growing crisis,” states the opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit.

Opioids at issue include brands such as OxyContin, and generics such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. These medications are said to have properties comparable to heroin and opium. They are extremely dangerous and addictive, the city claims, and like illegal drugs, prescription opiods create a significant risk of drug overdose death. The drugs are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the opioid addiction lawsuit states.

In fact, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a report states that nearly 80 percent of Americans who used or are using heroin abused  opioid prescription medications first.

The city alleges these companies deceptively marketed the use of these drugs, allowing medical providers and consumers to believe that these drugs can be used for long-term treatment of chronic pain, when their uses should be limited to palliative end-of-life care and short-term post-surgical and trauma-related pain.

Accusations against the companies allege that they knew that the effectiveness of opioids decreases during lon-term use, and that studies only show the effectiveness and safety of opioid use in short-term managed settings. The city alleges there are no long-term studies proving the safety and effectiveness of long-term opioid use.

Despite that knowledge, the city claims, manufacturers strove to expand the opioid market and “realize blockbuster profits.”

Pharmaceutical companies succeeded in increasing opioid use throughout the United States, the opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit claims. In fact, in 2010, the opioid addiction epidemic lawsuit claims that 20 percent of doctors’ visits were by patients who were prescription opioid users.

Additionally, “While Americans represent only 4.6% of the world’s population, they consume 80% of the opioids supplied around the world and 99% of the global hydrocodone supply.”

The Opioid Addiction Epidemic Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04591-TWP-MJD, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

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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