Two new players have joined the trend towards holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for the role they allegedly have played in creating or contributing to the current domestic opioid crisis.

The pervasive effects of opioid abuse by citizens of Alaska and of Toledo, Ohio have recently sparked litigation by their associated governments against makers and distributors of prescription painkillers, according to Law360.

As the effects of opioid abuse and addiction are felt by these local and state governments, each is taking a slightly different approach to addressing what they feel has been open deception in the marketing campaigns of pharmaceutical drug developers.

The State of Alaska is taking a more conservative approach by taking its first opioid case to court against just one entity, Purdue Pharma. The City of Toledo, on the other hand, is pursuing legal action on a much grander scale against several organizations including Purdue.

The list of other defendants in the Toledo lawsuit include Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Cephalon Inc., Johnson & Johnson Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Allergen PLC, Watson Laboratories Inc., Endo Health Solutions Inc., and Insys Therapeutics Inc.

Also named are drug distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corp., and certain unidentified medical doctors.

Both lawsuits stem from the municipalities experiencing firsthand the effects of opioid abuse, addiction, and death of their citizens that have been and are a part of the current national opioid crisis.

The cases claim that these organizations fed the epidemic by downplaying the risks involved in using opioids for situations involving ongoing pain. This effort to obscure the risks of addiction went hand-in-hand with outright persuasive attempts to get medical professionals and the public to believe opioids were harmless, a premise that had little scientific data to back it up.

The State of Alaska v. Purdue

Although the State of Alaska’s complaint is more narrowed at this point, the State Attorney General has left the door open for more legal actions against other entities down the road. It has partnered with a legal team from an outside law firm to investigate the effects of opioid abuse and addiction and the role Purdue has played in it.

The current lawsuit against Purdue by the State of Alaska alleges Purdue formed relationships with certain medical professionals and organizations. They were then supposedly paid to appear neutral and independent and speak positively about prescribing opioid drugs for situations of chronic pain.

According to the legal documentation, the nature of the true relationship was actively suppressed. They are being sued based on claims of the False Claims Act (FCA) and consumer fraud.

The City of Toledo v. Purdue et al.

The City of Toledo hopes to hold the many named defendants in their lawsuit accountable for what city officials claim has been deceitful promotion that has ruined many lives with the effects of opioid abuse.

The two Opioid Addiction Crisis Lawsuits are State of Alaska v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., in the Superior Court for the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District in Anchorage, and Toledo v. Purdue Pharma et al., Case No. 201704628, in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas.

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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