One of the Largest Lawsuits in History May Reach a Climax Soon!
While we are currently dealing with the terrible Covid-19 pandemic, that has taken the lives of countless individuals around the world, and left a number of people sick and without employment, for the last 20+ years the United States has been fighting against an even more sinister enemy. Our society has been in the grips of the worst opioid epidemic in the world’s history. According to the best personal injury attorney in Ruskin Florida, Ms. Anissa Morris, Esq. of Spinner Law Firm, the nationwide drug issue has led to a record number of addicts and caused the death of approximately 130 Americans every single day, as a result of drug overdose. And while the percentage of drug overdoses is ever-increasing, since 1999, around the time of the National introduction of the drug believed to have started it all, Oxycodone or its brand name, Oxycontin, has led to over 700,000 overdose deaths. And as a wrongful death attorney Dade City lawyer, Anissa Morris has seen some of the most unique lawsuits ever – as cities, counties, states and even Native American nations have begun suing manufacturers, distributors and even the doctor’s who have prescribed the pain relief meds, all seeking liability for what has become one of the largest public health crisis’ in American History. And as a result of a recent ruling in an Oklahoma court has caused the owners of Oxycontin creators, Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, (considered to be “the most hated family in the world”) to begin settling every suit, in one fell swoop.
With documentaries made about them, world famous museums removing their names from their halls (as they had put them after the Sacklers made multi-million dollar contributions to them – including the likes of the Louvre, the Guggenheim and many more), and protests with angry family members screaming their names down Broadway – the Sacklers can no longer live behind the anonymity their billions on billions of net worth was able to afford them. The world now knows that they were the family pushing their sales reps to use money, stock options, sex, drugs, and much, much more to convince doctors across the country and even the world to over prescribe these addictive pills. While making claims to their patients as well as the world that these drugs were non-habit forming if you took them as instructed, despite years upon years of scientific proof showing that these drugs were not only just addictive, but the addiction became progressively worse day by day, as patients would require more and more of the opioid drugs to feel the same effects. According to Ms. Anissa Morris, the best medical malpractice attorney Zephyrhills has to offer, this is worse than just textbook medical malpracticegot civil court, there is a strong criminal aspect here as well. And to be honest, the actions of both the Sacklers and the doctors, in all of this, get a whole lot worse.
The recent news in Oklahoma is that a federal judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay Oklahoma $572 million for its role in fueling the state’s opioid crisis. And in other settlements with the Sooner State, Purdue Pharma (the manufacturer of OxyContin) agreed to pay $270 million, and drug maker Teva agreed to pay another $85 million. Now reports also indicate that those companies, along with Endo International and Allergan are attempting settle around 2,000 more suits that have been consolidated in another federal court in Ohio. According to Ms. Morris, the best personal injury attorney in Ruskin, one of the saddest parts of this situation is that due to our country’s laws regarding sovereign businesses, and the Purdue Pharma’s corporate structure, the Sacklers will likely have insulated quite a bit from the financial burden. While initial reports indicate that Purdue Pharma, run by the secretive Sackler family, could pay up to $12 billion to settle all the claims against it being one of the largest settlements of all time – according to Ms. Morris the best wrongful death attorney Dade City has practicing.
One issue however, is that the agreement may only include the family paying $3 billion of its own money and having to give up ownership of the company. In a recent quote, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey stated, “For years, members of the Sackler family tried to hide their role in creating and profiting off the opioid epidemic…We owe it to families in Massachusetts and across the country to hold Purdue and the Sacklers accountable, ensure that the evidence of what they did is made public, and make them pay for the damage they have caused”. And sure, they are certainly being dragged through the mud all over, and forever the Sackler name will be almost synonymous with pretty much being a minion of the devil. However, in the grand scheme, according to Ms. Morris the best wrongful death attorney Dade City has to offer, $3 Billion dollars is a drop in the bucket for this family and doesn’t bring the countless overdose victims back to their families. And plus, their entire financial network is quite difficult to trace, through a myriad of accounts, holdings, LLC’s, pieces of art, gold bricks, and properties around the world. Therefore, they were simply given a ticket to enjoy their billions without the stress of running a multinational pharmaceutical company – which, if they so choose – they could still do, according to Ms. Morris, the best medical malpractice attorney Zephyrhills has practicing, they’ve got more than enough funds, and any malpractice, truly doesn’t extend to them. They can simply start a new pharmaceutical company with an even more complicated corporate structure, placing a trusted family friend or someone else, as the majority shareholder or chairman of the company.
And while it might seem as though Purdue was going to get out unscathed, just as the family essentially did. With the help of lawyers like Ms. Morris, the best personal injury attorney in Ruskin, on September 15th of 2019, Purdue Pharma announced an agreement to settle the absolutely massive opioid litigation suit – effectively forcing them to file chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code, and on their own website, is now placed what is essentially a sign-up sheet that states the following: “If you believe you have a claim against Purdue or any of its subsidiaries, please click “Read More Here” below for further information about the Proof of Claim process. JULY 30, 2020 is the “Bar Date” – THE DEADLINE for every person or entity to submit a Proof of Claim”. Just giving more and more individuals the chance to pile onto the lawsuit. For more on such cases, and to schedule a consult of your own, be sure to contact Spinner Law Firm today.