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The opioid epidemic is so intrusive that it is likely that nearly everyone knows someone who has been affected by this horrific epidemic. Americans, even though we only make up about 5 percent of the world's population, consumed 75 percent of the world’s prescription drugs in 2011. Even if they are prescribed for a legitimate medical reason, their high propensity for addiction often leads to their abuse.

Some factual situations our firm would like to investigate as a potential case on behalf of individuals include:

• Documented prescription opioid use (must be prescribed to the client);

• The prescribed drug must be an NDA-approved opioid. There are various different brands. These brand names will fall within a certain category.

 

​Misuse of opioids has cost thousands of lives. U.S. deaths from drug overdoses increased in 2017 to 63,600, up from 52,000 in 2015. Two thirds of those drug deaths involved opioids. Both legal and illegal forms of opioids were blamed for a drop in American life expectancy for the second year in a row.

Opioid lawsuits by injured individuals claim that opioid manufacturers and distributors exploited patients, and caused or contributed to the plaintiffs’ (or their loved ones’) addictions to controlled substances, which ultimately led to injury or death.

The Stewart Law Firm is looking at opioid injury claims involving brand-name prescription opioid usage concurrent with one of the following injuries:

• Death due to overdose

• Hospitalization due to overdose

• Hospitalization due to symptoms of overdose

• Addiction treated with inpatient rehab

This is only compounded here in Florida where issues arise when "suspicious orders, as 500 million pills ended up in Florida between 2008 and 2012." - Washington Post 4/2/17