What Do I Need to Know About Opioid Lawsuits?

For the past couple of years, opioid drug overdoses have killed an unprecedented number of people in America. What has been most alarming is that overdose cases are not limited to areas where drugs have typically been a problem – opioids have invaded suburbs and high-income classes. Opioids, or opiates, are drugs that relieve pain. They are highly addictive. Continued use of opioids causes tolerance, dependence, and eventually addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Opioid lawsuits are cropping up around the country for unsuspecting patients who are now addicted to the substance.

Opioids are dangerous drugs in terms of addiction. Pain-relieving prescriptions such as those that contain fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine, or hyrdromorphone work by attaching to opioid receptors in the brain. They block the transmission of pain signals and affect the areas of the brain that control emotion. Opioid drugs activate the brain’s reward center, causing the euphoric feelings that can prelude drug misuse and abuse. Over time, the consumer can develop a tolerance for the prescription opioid, meaning he or she needs to take more and more of the drug to experience the same pain-killing effects. This can result in opioid addiction.

Even patients who take prescription painkillers exactly as prescribed can become addicted to the drug. Tolerance can turn into taking more of the opioids, and then experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as headache or nausea when off the drug. Soon, the consumer will not be able to function normally without being on the drug. In 4-6% of cases, when opioid prescriptions run out, the patient turns to heroin for the same effects. Heroin is also an opioid and often more easily available and less costly than prescription drugs.

Thus, the “opioid epidemic” is sweeping America through unsuspecting patients who seek pain relief without understanding the high risk of drug addiction. Every day, more than 90 people die from opioid overdoses. Overdosing is a high threat with opioid addiction due to the power the drug has on the brain. People who manage to begin the opioid detoxification process and the relapse are especially at risk of overdose, as the body may not be able to handle the same dosages it could before detox. Opioid addiction is a painful reality for thousands of Americans – many of whom began as law-abiding patients.

As more and more patients are falling victim to opioid addictions, state and federal courts are processing more lawsuits. Victims are suing their doctors, drug companies, and other parties for the current opioid crisis. As someone struggling with an opioid addiction or a family member of someone who died because of opioid overdose, you may have grounds to file your own lawsuit in pursuit of financial recovery of damages.

The opioid-prescribing physician may be liable for a patient’s opioid addiction if the physician did not warn of the risk of addiction, failed to notice a developing tolerance for the drug, or issued an unsafe dosage that constituted a breach of professional duty. The healthcare facility may be liable if the doctor is an employee or if another staff member contributed to the addiction.

Suing drug manufacturers for addiction is not as common, but, in an opioid context, this could be a possibility. The opioid manufacturer may have breached a duty to warn doctors and patients about the propensity for addiction. Get help from an attorney right away if you believe you can sue a person or entity for an opioid addiction/overdose.

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