Los Angeles has recently become the latest, following the footsteps of the attorney general of New York, the city of Philadelphia, and several other municipalities, in the filing of a prescription drug overdose lawsuit against top drugmakers and distributors.

According to Law360, the prescription drug overdose lawsuit accuses Big Pharma companies of engaging in deceptive marketing tactics, public nuisance, negligence, and of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

According to a statement by L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer, “The scourge of prescription drug addiction has made a significant impact on Los Angeles residents and created a continued public nuisance in our City.”

He continued to state that “Manufacturers and distributors of these highly addictive and potentially fatal drugs must be held accountable for driving the opioid epidemic and the significant impacts of their reckless and irresponsible business practices.”

The prescription drug overdose lawsuit is being filed against nine defendants: Purdue Pharma LP., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Insys Therapeutics Inc., Mallinckrodt LLC, Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

President Trump recently declared the opioid crisis and public health emergency, and the number of lawsuits being filed against these companies show just that. According to the prescription drug overdose lawsuit, there have been 64,000 people who have died in 2016 because of drug overdose–more than the number of U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War.

In fact, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) has recently been centralized in the Northern District of Ohio, combining all similar suits by tribes and local governments being filed against Big Pharma companies. Lawsuits became centralized in December.

According to Law360, many of those who died in 2016 had died in Los Angeles. The California Department of Public Health says 23.6 million California residents were prescribed opioid medication. In 2016, 2,031 California residents died from an opioid related drug overdose. According to the prescription drug overdose lawsuit, of those numbers, there had been roughly 327 opioid related deaths in L.A. County and 4.6 million prescriptions given out.

However, the senior Vice President of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, John P., spoke out in a recent statement. He stated that “the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids is a complex public health challenge that requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders.” He added that, “Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation.”

According to Law360, Healthcare Distribution Alliance is in a trade association with members that includes AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.

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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