Goldberg, Persky & White, P.C., joins Motley Rice LLC as local co-counsel in the lawsuit against eight pharmaceutical companies whose tactics and unlawful practices could have contributed to the opioid crisis that is gripping the nation. The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the following pharmaceutical companies that make or distribute opioids:
- Purdue Pharma LP
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Endo Health Solutions Inc.
- Mallinckrodt, plc; Cardinal Health Inc.
- McKesson Corporation
- AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.
The lawsuit alleges that these companies have violated the state’s Unfair Trade and Consumer Protection Law, have unlawfully increased sales to increase profits, committed gross negligence, and have used misleading marketing tactics – all of which has generated a public health emergency.
Additionally, these drug companies stand accused of downplaying the potential risk of addiction when taking opioids and encouraging doctors to prescribe opioids for common ailments like chronic headaches or arthritis. The pharmaceutical companies have also been accused of not fully disclosing the health risks linked with increased dosage and have ignored the signs of opioid abuse in order to increase profits by billions of dollars. This has led to the widespread overuse that has devastated much of the country.
Opioids are a group of painkillers, ranging from moderately strong to strong and can be highly addictive. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 showed nearly half of all opioid related deaths involved prescription opioids. The opioid crisis declared a public health emergency in October 2017.
In 2017 in Allegheny County there were 740 overdose deaths – an increase of 13 percent from the previous year. Over 2,400 doses of Narcan – the drug administered to counteract an overdose – were dispensed in Allegheny County alone in 2017.
At GPW, not only do we handle more common types of cases, but we have the ability to handle unusual and complex litigation requiring specialized knowledge and strict attention to detail. Certain personal injury cases can be extremely complex and expensive to litigate. They require the knowledge and experience of a large law firm, like Goldberg Persky & White.
If you have suffered any type of injury, please call our office at 1-800-471-3980 or via email and one of our attorneys will evaluate your case at no charge.
Sources:
Jonathan Silver, “Michigan, Allegheny County Sure Opioid Makers, Distributors,” Michigan Post-Gazette (May 15, 2018). [Link]
Stacey Federoff, “County, City File Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors,” Biz Journals (May 15, 2018). [Link]
