In the midst of an opioid addiction crisis plaguing the country, the Texas County of Nolan has opted to file legal action against numerous pharmaceutical companies that may have contributed to the county’s addiction problem.

Nolan County officials opted to file this claim, alleging that aggressive and deceitful marketing tactics had caused a serious opioid addiction crisis in the county’s citizens. This opioid addiction crisis lawsuit is filed on behalf of the Nolan County citizens, who have allegedly experienced overdose deaths and other serious socioeconomic damages from the effects of addiction.

The pharmaceutical companies named in the opioid addiction crisis lawsuit include Purdue Pharma L.P., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cardinal Health Inc., and others. Each of the pharmaceutical companies named in the lawsuit allegedly had a role in marketing and distributing powerful pain medications into the county while knowing of their addictive nature.

Overview of Opioid Addiction Crisis

Plaintiffs allege that during the 1980s, pharmaceutical companies began marketing opioids for long term pain treatment purposes when these drugs are much safer to use on a short term basis. This is because opioids have a highly addictive nature, to which patients become accustomed to and often seek out other means of relief when their prescription ends.

Pharmaceutical companies did this all over the country, with Nolan County allegedly one of the many districts in which these drugs were promoted. According to the opioid addiction crisis lawsuit, these pharmaceutical companies had marketed these drugs for a number of short term conditions including back pain, headaches, arthritis, and fibromyalgia.

Doctors reportedly continue to prescribe opoids to prescriptions as a result of the aggressive marketing. These pharmaceutical companies, allege the plaintiffs, focused their marketing efforts on primary care doctors, who were more likely to prescribe drugs to chronic pain patients and be less likely to be aware of the potential risks of opioid use.

The opioid addiction crisis has plagued Nolan County in a number of ways, say the plaintiffs, including child protection services needing to remove children from homes due to drug addiction. In addition, Nolan County residents have had to seek substance abuse treatment in which a number of patients were suffering the effects of opiate abuse or dependence.

As a result, numerous residents have lost their jobs and sustained mental and physical health problems, homelessness, incarceration, overdose deaths, and broken families. Nolan County as a whole has sustained numerous socioeconomic damages, including increasing expenses of child services, treatment centers, and law enforcement, alleges the opioid addiction crisis lawsuit.

Affetcted patients allegedly face an increased risk of overdose deaths.  Between the years 1999 and 2015, the opioid addiction crisis had claimed the lives of 183,000 people throughout the United States. The CDC has released multiple warnings against opioid use, stating these drugs are highly addictive and can be risky even on a short term basis.

The CDC warnings, allege the plaintiffs, contradicted the marketing statements of the pharmaceutical companies, which marketed opioids as safe treatment options for short term pain relief. The United States has approximately sustained $78.53 billion in socioeconomic damages, due to direct consequences of the opioid addiction crisis.

Representatives of Nolan County are filing this opioid addiction crisis lawsuit on behalf of themselves and their county’s residents, seeking compensation for the socioeconomic damages.

This Opioid Addiction Crisis Lawsuit is County of Nolan v. Purdue Pharma L.P., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cardinal Health Inc., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-00196-C, in the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas, Abilene Division.

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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