Not long ago, we were told that car accidents killed more Americans than any other non-disease cause. But this is no longer true, as drug overdose deaths hit a record high in the United States.
As the opioid crisis in the U.S. continues to get worse by the year despite all the measures adopted and proposed by lawmakers and safety advocates, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the period between January 2017 and January 2018.
Our defective product attorney from the Law Offices of Howard Craig Kornberg explains that the previous year marked a 6.6 percent increase compared to the 2016 figures. With drug overdoses accounting for a higher death toll compared to any other non-disease cause of death, including homicides and car crashes, it is time to hold drug manufacturers accountable.
But is it even possible to do that? Can drug manufacturers be held liable for fatalities caused by drug overdoses and addictions? In order to answer this question, it is important to understand what is behind the increase in drug overdose deaths.
The increase in drug overdose fatalities in the U.S. is mainly caused by the ever-growing use of such synthetic opioids as Fentanyl. In fact, in 2017 alone, nearly 30,000 Americans died from synthetic opioid overdoses. The harm caused by synthetic opioids has prompted safety groups to call on California lawmakers to ban opioid drugs in the U.S.
Fact: Did you know that Fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and is relatively easy and cheap to make?
The problem with Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are that they are often mixed with other, equally addictive drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, especially when purchased by patients on the streets. In that case, it is nearly impossible to hold drug manufacturers liable for wrongful death.
But when a patient dies from a drug overdose and the drug was purchased through a pharmacy, the legal theory of product liability may apply as long as your case falls into one of the following three categories:
As you can see, it is actually possible to hold drug manufacturers liable for deaths caused by drug overdose. Consult with our attorney from the Law Offices of Howard Craig Kornberg to speak about the legal options available in your particular case. Call our offices at 310-997-0904 today.