A week after multiple Louisiana Sheriff’s Offices filed suit against several opioid manufacturers, the state Department of Health has filed its own lawsuit claiming these drug companies have helped fuel the Bayou State’s severe opioid epidemic. Legal Analyst Tim Meche says this is a very trendy lawsuit now.
Meche says it could be difficult for the suits to stick because the opioids are regulated and approved by the FDA and prescribed by doctors. He says this litigation is similar to lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
LDH is seeking damages for the amounts it has already paid for excessive opioid prescriptions and treatment costs as a result of those prescriptions. Meche says it seems like this is more about trial lawyers trying to make money rather than fight the epidemic.