It doesn’t matter whether you're rich or poor. White- or blue-collar. College educated or never finished high school. Opioid abuse, injuries and deaths are plaguing millions of Americans from all walks of life. Now we know that the drug companies that make these drugs used aggressive marketing and questionable research to convince us that these drugs were not addictive and could be safely used for even minor aches and pains. And once again, Americans are turning to our civil justice system to hold these companies accountable and make them pay for the damage caused by their dangerous products.
The use and abuse of prescription painkillers has reached record levels in the United States. Another record? Pharmaceutical company profits. As the death toll from opioid overdose rises, so do Big Pharma earnings. Americans are turning to the courts to hold companies accountable and joining forces to confront an industry that continues to put profits ahead of people. These actions could jump-start a nationwide change in how we prescribe and regulate opioid painkillers.