In Washington state, the Swinomish Tribe has sued Purdue Pharma and other companies over opioid deaths.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has sued Purdue Pharma and other companies, claiming that the companies misled doctors and patients into believing that opioids were safe and effective for long-term use, though mounting evidence suggests that the drugs are dangerous to use over a long period of time because they are highly addictive, and are not particularly affective in managing chronic pain.

This lawsuit is one of an increasing number of lawsuits that aim to hold large pharmaceutical companies accountable for the opioid crisis in the United States.

Multiple states, including Massachusetts and West Virginia, have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, claiming that their untruthful advertising of opioids have lead to high numbers of opioid addictions, overdoses, and opioid deaths in their states.

In recent years, more and more opioid drugs have been prescribed, leading to what has become known as the opioid crisis or opioid epidemic in the United States. Allegedly, pharmaceutical companies advertise the drugs to be effective in treating chronic pain, selling high amounts of the drugs around the country.

However, many opioid death lawsuits claim that these claims are mostly fabricated by large pharmaceutical companies attempting to maximize profits.

Allegedly, the drug companies intentionally capitalize on the fact that opioids are highly addictive to sell high numbers of pills. Many opioid lawsuits claim that the companies target vulnerable populations in advertising opioid drugs.

Such was the argument made earlier in the year by both Massachusetts and West Virginia, whose attorneys general claimed that large drug companies sent massive amounts of opioids to small pharmacies in rural areas, targeting a vulnerable rural population.

According to KOMONews, a similar argument was made in the Swinomish Tribe opioid deaths lawsuit, whose representation cited federal statistics that allegedly reported that Native Americans are twice as likely to overdose from opioids than any other racial demographic, and twice as likely to overdose than the general population.

According to Brian Cladoosby, the Swinomish Tribal Chairman, “We have been holding funerals while these companies reap record profits. It’s time they are held accountable for the destruction they’ve caused in the Swinomish community.”

The Swinomish opioid addiction lawsuit claims that the community has taken action to combat the damage done by the growing opioid addiction epidemic in their community. Reportedly, they have created a wellness center to provide outpatient treatment to those in the community dealing with opioid addiction.

The wellness center’s chief executive officer John Stephens claims that the new “integrated treatment program provides quality, comprehensive services that have the highest potential for saving lives and healing victims of this crisis brought about by big pharma.”

However, many argue that community action cannot combat the opioid addiction alone, and that for the crisis to improve and for the number of opioid deaths to reduce, large drug companies have to radically change their approach to opioids.

Lawsuits around the country call for drug companies to stop falsely advertising opioids as safe and effective, and to radically reduce the number of opioids they sell throughout the country.

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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