PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_may 2018 | Page 14
MASS TORTS C o r n e r
Individual Wrongful Death Actions are
Appropriate for
Inclusion In
JOSEPH OSBORNE
re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation , MDL No. 2804
A rapidly growing series of lawsuits, which
originated as public nuisance claims,
involves governments suing pharmaceutical
manufacturers,
distributors,
and
pharmacies over the costs associated with
treating and fighting prescription opioid
abuse in their communities. Prescribing
practices for opioids were liberalized in the
1990s to relieve undertreated pain, but, in the
past few years, opioid addiction and abuse
has become a national concern. Several
years ago, individuals brought personal
injury or wrongful death claims against
many of the manufacturers of opioids,
but courts concluded that responsibility
for prescription drug abuse largely rested
with the physicians who overprescribed
the painkillers and the individuals who
took the drugs, many of which were
obtained illegally. South Florida has been
hit particularly hard by the opioid crisis. A
report by the Florida Medical Examiner’s
Office found opioid-related deaths in the
state increased 35 percent from 2016 to 2017.
The majority of opioid lawsuits to date have
been initiated by states, counties and cities.
Those lawsuits seek to recover increased
costs the states and municipalities
allegedly incurred as a result of opioid
addiction — e.g., costs associated with
diagnosis and treatment of opioid addiction
and overdose, increased law enforcement
and police operations, and higher demands
on hospitals, emergency rooms and prisons.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation consolidated more than 100
lawsuits filed by counties, cities and
other parties against opioid manufacturer
and distributors into the In re: National
Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL No. 2804
on December 4, 2017. The JPML assigned
US District Judge Daniel Polster in the
Northern District of Ohio to supervise the
litigation.
On February 1, 2018, a transfer order was
entered in Hughes v. Mallinckrodtbrand
Pharmaceuticals, Inc, et al., C.A. No. 4:17-
2426, finding, in relevant part:
When we decided to create this MDL, we
noted that, although the cases on the
initial transfer motion were brought by
political subdivisions, there were potential
tag-along actions brought by individuals,
consumers, hospitals and third-party
payors. Id. at *3. Further, we recognized
that “this litigation might evolve to include
additional categories of plaintiffs and
defendants, as well as different types of
claims.” Id. The question now before us in
Hughes is whether individual wrongful
death actions are appropriate for inclusion
in MDL No. 2804. We hold that, at this early
stage, they are. Plaintiff in Hughes alleges
that manufacturers of various prescription
opioid medications improperly marketed
and failed to warn about the unreasonably
dangerous or defective nature of those
drugs. Hughes therefore falls within the
MDL’s ambit.
The Plaintiff in Hughes brought
her claims against manufacturers of opioid
medications, healthcare entities and a
physician for the death of her son who
allegedly died as a result of an accidental
overdose of Fentanyl and Methadone. The
holding that individual personal injury and
wrongful death actions are appropriate for
inclusion in the MDL represents an been
expanded and evolving avenue for Plaintiffs
to pursue.
LET’S CREATE
A
WIN -WIN
RELATIONSHIP!
If YOU need
CLIENTS
WE need YOU!
Join Today
Lawyer Referral
for more information visit:
www.palmbeachbar.org
-or-
email: [email protected]
PALMBEACHBAR.ORG
14