The City of Covington has hired a local Louisiana law firm, Porteous Hainkel & Johnson LLP to take on America’s pharmaceutical industry for knowingly mislabeling and misrepresenting their opiate-based drugs which have resulted in a spiraling addiction crisis across the nation, according to a news release from the Brylski media relations firm in New Orleans.
The epidemic has resulted in thousands of deaths and rising costs in safety, public health and other local services needed to treat the problems created, according to attorney William Lozes.
On January 16, 2018, the Covington City Council gave Mayor Mike Cooper the authority to retain Porteous, Hainkel & Johnson LLP for representation in a civil action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Porteous, represented by local attorneys Ralph Alexis and Lozes, is part of a national leadership team of attorneys that includes lead consultant Stuart Smith LLC, Kevin Thompson, Kevin Malone and Kent H. Robbins. Their clients will consist of hospitals, parishes, counties, cities, non-profit health providers, drug rehab centers, coroners, foster care agencies, and other public third-parties like local police departments in states from Missouri, West Virginia, New York, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota and Texas.
“The legal team will help local governments like Covington in attempts to recoup the unreimbursed expenses for dealing with a drug crisis which is reducing American’s life-expectancy and resulting in a death-rate that now out-paces violent gun deaths in the nation’s largest cities,” Lozes said.
St. Tammany Parish saw an outbreak of heroin related deaths in January. Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz recently joined police chiefs and sheriffs from around the country at the White House to give a local face to the problem, since death overdoses now out-pace car-related deaths 2-to-1.
“Our law enforcement and criminal justice system is on the front lines of dealing with the crisis, which is impacting families from every spectrum of our society,” Cooper said. “We have chosen a local law firm, Porteous Hainkel & Johnson LLP, with 90 years of experience and four offices in Louisiana to help us seek reimbursement for the incredible public costs created by this rampant problem.
“Hopefully, we can recover some of the extensive costs that the City has incurred dealing with this rampant problem and put the money into treatment programs to address the opioid addiction problem firsthand.”
The contracted legal team, along with other top nationally recognized “super lawyers,” has extensive experience prosecuting claims for impacted plaintiffs across the United States.
“Our team is ready to protect the interests of all those who have suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the callous actions of the drug manufacturers,” Lozes said. “It’s time for the legal and medical professions to stand up and work together to help solve this health crisis.”
“Due to extensive public indebtedness on federal and state levels, it seems reasonable and logical to conclude that those who profit off this health disaster should pay,” Smith said. “The American civil justice system is well suited for this purpose.”
The team alleges that civil lawsuits brought against the pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, opioid drug distributors and/or wholesalers, and big retail pharmacies are the only way to remedy the prescription opioid drug epidemic.
Prospective plaintiffs include public entities, like, the City of Covington, and private ones such as hospitals, which have massive unreimbursed expenses from opioid-related issues.
Some of the facts presented by the law group and its medical expert Dr. Brent Bell, PA-C/Radiation Oncology, include:
- Prescription opioids killed almost twice as many people in the U.S. as heroin in 2014, and surpassed car accident deaths in the U.S;
- Nearly 100 Americans die every day from opioid overdoses, and half of all overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid;
- 91% of persons who have a non-fatal overdose of opioids are prescribed opioids again within one year;
- Seven in 10 opioids overdoses that are treated in an ER are for prescription opioids;
- The Centers for Disease Control in 2016 disputed pharmaceutical company claims that opiate addiction is not possible in patients with chronic pain;
- CDC and Federal Drug Administration guidelines in 2016 also stated that the benefits of high opiate dosage for chronic pain are not established and not proven to increase patient function or have a long-term benefit in reducing pain.
“America’s opioid crisis has resulted in huge and non-reimbursable expenses related to ER visits, training costs, lost employee productivity due to addiction, increased need for police resources, and the under-reported impact on foster care where one-third of all children entering are from drug addicted households,” Lozes said.
“Facts show that pharmaceutical drug companies and their distribution partners exaggerated the benefits of opioids, downplayed risks and consequences, knew the drugs were being overly prescribed, yet failed to warn doctors of the extremely addictive nature of the narcotics and the need to strictly limit and monitor the dose,” Smith said.
The lawsuits also focus on distributors’ violation of the Controlled Substances Act by failing to report the unusual patterns associated with the opioid purchases and use. The attorneys point to multiple on-the-record admissions of wrongdoing by many manufacturers and distributors of opioids. Many of these target defendants have pleaded guilty to criminal violation and/or paid massive fines; their liability is unquestioned, according to Smith.
“We’re proud to represent the City of Covington and others in Louisiana,” Lozes said. “It’s time to help those like Chief Lentz, who are putting their lives on the line through programs like Operation Angel to deal with a problem that clearly has been created in the name of profit.”
Having a nephew who died from an overdose of opioids to which he became addicted while under the “care” of a physician, I have to ask again, when will somebody hold physicians accountable for over-prescribing these drugs, regardless of the labeling or anything else by big pharma?
I support anything that addresses this nightmare of an issue, including going after the profiteer pharmaceutical firms, but why are more physicians not criminally prosecuted for their clear culpability here? It’s not like it’s hard to prove prescribing 90 Oxycontin pills for an acute injury expected to heal in no more than 2 weeks is inappropriate nor endlessly re-authorizing prescriptions when it should be clear the pain alleviation necessity is over.
Maybe somebody reading this has an answer?
Great post, Stephen, and I’m glad you made it because I firmly believe that, on a contributory negligence scale, the physician who wrote the prescriptions bears 85-90% of the responsibility. I do not have the answer to why they aren’t being cracked down upon more other than the distinct possibility that it’s yet another instance of failure by occupational licensing boards to properly safeguard the public which is SUPPOSED to be their reason for existing (but I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the REAL many low-earning occupational licensing boards and commissions exist have NOTHING to do with protecting the public and there is some evidence Gov. Edwards has come to that realization as well: http://www.soundoffla.com/?p=1310
I would imagine that this issue is going to go down the same path as the big tobacco lawsuits where state AG’s come together to have a focused plan of attack. Let’s hope there is a positive outcome to both have laws passed to get the over prescribing issue resolved and also to have settlements that will truly get help for those in need.
I do not see how the manufacturers of scheduled prescription medications are liable for a person’s addiction when there are licensed medical doctors prescribing the medications and licensed pharmacists dispensing the medications to patients/consumers. If that is the case, then alcohol manufacturers should be sued for the same or similar reasons and be forced to pay for the cost to society of alcohol poisoning and alcoholism treatment. There are no licensed doctors or pharmacists in between alcohol and its consumers/victims. Who’s getting paid here? I think it is the “super” lawyers…..
It’s really easy to understand when you sit down to watch a newscast and you see the 30-minute show dominated by TV advertisements for prescriptions drugs. Far too much emphasis has been placed on marketing with not nearly enough attention to the repercussions. We’re all encouraged hundreds of times each day to “ask your doctor about …” and There are doctors out there who will gladly comply. But listen to the disclaimers at the ends of those commercials. They’re truly frightening.
I have a doctor who, after diagnosing me with macular degeneration, set me up with a mail order pharmaceutical firm to supply me with vitamins to slow the progression. The pills were very expensive and my pharmacist found the same product on her shelf for a fraction of the cost. We theorized that the doctor might be getting a kickback, but there was no proof.
A few days ago, I got a call from the mail order firm informing me that “Dr._________(my doctor) has authorized a special discount….”
There’s the root of the problem: doctors and pharmaceutical companies in collusion to generate profits.
Overdoses are just collateral damage.
“It’s really easy to understand when you sit down to watch a newscast and you see the 30-minute show dominated by TV advertisements for prescriptions drugs.”
And, according to the best info I can find, only the USA and New Zealand allow the kind of ads you are talking about. One article I read said Canada allows some within very tight restrictions, but all other countries seem to recognize the downsides of these ads that our politicians have been paid off to ignore. Most doctors resent these ads, but many will prescribe the medication on demand unless the contraindications are too serious for the patient involved.
Agree 100%!!!
What about 120 oxycontin pills for a month with endless refills? I watched my good friend doctor shop to find the next one to give her 120 pills for a month. Each time I could get the name of the prescribing doctor, I would turn in a complaint to the DEA. I turned in four doctors (New Orleans area)! However, a retired DEA agent said that “the system” is set up to notify officials when one doctor prescribes more than one narcotic to the same patient. Basically, an astute physician only prescribes one narcotic to a patient and no one is the wiser.
At least two medical facilities in New Orleans sent out letters to former and current patients in October 2017 that they were discontinuing their “pain management” practice. What do you do with the folks that are already “hooked?” Street drugs? Heroin? Worse Options? Sad.
I strongly disagree with all of you. I have been on percaset for years for back pain. Because I have a lot of serious health issues surgery is not an option to rid me of the pain. I get 90 a month and although I have friends who died of an overdose I think the responsibility lies with the person taking the drug. I don’t know if I am addicted or not but I know that bottle says 1 pill 3 times a day and that is what I take never 2 at a time or 4 in a day when the pain comes back I just shut down and quit doing what I am doing. Simple as self control.
Unless I am misinterpreting what others are saying, none of us are talking about people like you. Please read our comments more carefully. We are talking about abuses, not correctly prescribed medications as in your case.
Oxycontin is the drug that made the Sackler family (Purdue Pharma). That drug represents the majority of their billions. Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to intentionally marketing the drug as safe and not addictive when in fact it was 50 times stronger than morphine and it’s “time released” properties were easily bypassed by crushing and ingesting although now it is significantly more tamper resistant.
Percocet and Oxcontin are both forms of Oxycodone – but manufactured by different companies – Percocet is mixed with acetomenaphine while Oxycontin is pure Oxycodone but both about the same thing – Percocet is higher dose with more immediate potency and Oxycontin is the time release aspect.
Maybe the better framing is the illegitimate prescribing by doctors who were financially incentivized by Big Pharma to dispense these pills when not necessary, hence the pain management center explosion (and fraud) and dependency issue.
Certainly there are those in legitimate need such as your example of chronic health issues – but for example in Louisiana when there are more prescriptions than there are citizens then I believe we should concede there is a crisis.
Oxycontin and Percocet are just about the same thing except Percocet is Oxycodone with acetomenaphine while Oxycontin is pure Oxycodone – no real difference. Of course the issue with Oxycontin is it was marketed as different from Percocet in that it was time released over 12 hours but clearly abusers figured out rather quickly that it could be crushed and snorted for a more profound effect which of course led to more dependency – but supposedly much more tamper proof today.
It should be noted that the manufacturer of Oxycontin pled guilty years ago to intentionally marketing their product as safe and not at risk of dependency despite knowing their product was 50 times stronger than morphine.
I would think maybe the better framing of the issue is the illegitimate prescribing of these drugs from Big Pharma incentivizing doctors financially and of course the explosion of pain management centers which fueled it further (along with massive health care fraud).
I don’t think the issue is legitimate prescriptions for people like yourself with chronic health care issues.
I think the fact that in Louisiana there are more opiod prescriptions than residents should be compelling enough to concede we are in a crisis. Another point to ponder – the street demand for Oxycontin is so high that it fetches roughly four times what it costs for a dose of heroin which may be a fuel factor to the disastrous heroin epidemic. Those that have become addicted to Oxycontin may very well be turning to heroin for economic reasons.
I agree totally. It seems that accepting individual responsibility is paramount but not expected anymore. Many things are addictive, including gambling, and it’s up to the individual to show restraint. I have dealt with kidney stones for years, and my doctor prescribed a pain medication for the intense pain that comes before they pass. The bottle could not have been more clear about the potential for addiction. I only took a few the whole time when the pain was unberable (that was far a 0.7 mm stone which hurts like nothing I can describe), and the remainder of that prescription remains in a drawer and I’ve never touched it in the years that have passed since that intense episode.
Sorry for the nearly identical double response – it zapped my second to last post and didn’t show up until much later so I simply retyped much of the same – passionate subject – nephew is a pharmacist turned physician so he has seen both sides of the coin…
Did someone say lawsuit? In the state of la? Cue AG Jeff Landry in 3.2.1
Baton Rouge suit:
https://www.businessreport.com/article/baton-rouge-files-lawsuit-opioid-drug-makers?utm_campaign=dr_pm-2018_Jan_23-15_21&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dr_pm
Read the article and the comments, one of which even lists the top prescribers of opioids in B.R.
The clearest thing is that a lot of attorneys are going to make a lot of money on both sides of this equation and the plaintiffs don’t seem to have the greatest of cases.
Again, the drug manufacturers may make these drugs, but without prescriptions being written there would be no incentive to make them. So, what percent of the blame can be laid at the feet of the manufacturers/marketers? A good question the courts will spend a lot of time determining.
A lot of lawyers made a lot of money off the tobacco settlement and so did the states and a few cessation programs through the states. The dangers of tobacco products were and are well known. You didn’t and still don’t need a prescription to buy them. A myriad of health care costs are directly associated with tobacco usage – But any adult can still buy them legally – and there are plenty of people who still do. The major permanent accomplishment of the tobacco settlement was driving the price of the products up via particularly regressive taxes on those still addicted. That said, the manufacturers were clearly culpable and deserved the hit they took.
The opioid manufacturers are culpable, but they are clearly not the most culpable for the opioid crisis – and they will have plenty of high-priced attorneys making that argument. And who will ultimately pay for both their attorneys and the plaintiff attorneys? You got it.
My point, exactly.
I agree totally. Everyone living now (except maybe those people in their late 20s or early 30s) will be dead before any settlement is ever reached on this matter. The smartest move is to just voluntarily dismiss the case. Since that isn’t going to happen, I hope defense attorneys succeed in preliminary motions to dismiss the case because I don’t want to pay even more for my prescriptions in order to compensate defense attorneys because individuals and medical doctors cannot exhibit individual responsibility and accountability.
A good article about Pharma’s amped up lobbying efforts:
https://www.axios.com/big-pharma-lobbying-trump-1516808456-b88d9314-293a-4b6d-a5c6-af9cf7ec4c0b.html
Closing statement from above article:
“Overall, federal lobbying at just these 12 health care trade groups totaled $109 million in 2017 — or about $34 million more than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spends on its opioid abuse and overdose prevention program. And that figure doesn’t include the industry lobbying at the state level.”
As a father who has witnessed his daughter’s demise through the use of opiates, I can only assume that this is nothing more than a bunch of shyster’s getting rich in the name of “caring,” and would be highly skeptical of anything of which Stuart Smith is involved.