This class action brings suit against a long list of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioids, on behalf of independent public school districts in Florida. The complaint claims, “public schools have been shouldering perhaps the most profound and enduring consequences of the nationwide opioid epidemic.” It points to schools’ needs to provide special education and other services to children who were exposed to opioids before birth, children who live in households with opioid use, and children who are themselves addicted.
The class for this action is all independent school districts in Florida.
Children who are exposed to opioids in the womb, the complaint says, “frequently develop cognitive and behavioral disabilities as a result…” They may be born addicted to opioids themselves, with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), also called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). They often “require extra interventions and support throughout their education” and it falls on public schools to provide this.
Children who live in households where opioid addiction is a problem and children who are themselves addicted to opioids also need what the complaint calls “special education and interventions” including “specialized health and/or counseling programs…”
Even if the opioid crisis ended todays, the complaint alleges, the demands on the schools will continue for years into the future. Even more costs are imposed, the complaint claims, “with their workers’ and their families’ health expenses and insurance, including their workers’ and families’ increased use of prescription opioids, and the treatments required as a result of their workers’ and their families’ opioid addictions, including treatment for overdoses and leaves of absences.”
The complaint displays charts of the increases in overdoses, overdose deaths, and projected rise in costs associated with the crisis.
According to the complaint, drug makers used to be constrained by the risks of long-term opioid use—until opioid makers undertook “to suppress reasonable concerns about opioids and to maximize profits” by getting doctors to prescribe them not just in terminal situations but for the tens of thousands of ordinary people suffering from chronic pain. They “re-educated” those who prescribed drugs and the general public, the complaint claims, presenting a different narrative about opioids, minimizing the risks of opioids, and putting doctors under pressure to treat pain more aggressively using opioids.
The complaint alleges, “False messages about the safety addictiveness, and efficacy of opioids were disseminated by infiltrating professional medical societies and crafting and influencing industry guidelines to disseminate false and deceptive pro-opioid information under the guise of science and truth.”
The causes of action include civil conspiracy, failure to warn, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: RICO
Most Recent Case Event
Opioid Epidemic Costs to Florida Public Schools RICO Complaint
June 27, 2022
This class action brings suit against a long list of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioids, on behalf of independent public school districts in Florida. The complaint claims, “public schools have been shouldering perhaps the most profound and enduring consequences of the nationwide opioid epidemic.” It points to schools’ needs to provide special education and other services to children who were exposed to opioids before birth, children who live in households with opioid use, and children who are themselves addicted.
Opioid Epidemic Costs to Florida Public Schools RICO ComplaintCase Event History
Opioid Epidemic Costs to Florida Public Schools RICO Complaint
June 27, 2022
This class action brings suit against a long list of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioids, on behalf of independent public school districts in Florida. The complaint claims, “public schools have been shouldering perhaps the most profound and enduring consequences of the nationwide opioid epidemic.” It points to schools’ needs to provide special education and other services to children who were exposed to opioids before birth, children who live in households with opioid use, and children who are themselves addicted.
Opioid Epidemic Costs to Florida Public Schools RICO Complaint