If you or a loved one have overdosed on a medication, a Washington, DC medication overdose lawyer may be able to help you bring a lawsuit against negligent or careless pharmaceutical companies.
This is a particularly important right now because the opioid crisis and the painkiller crisis in the United States isn’t just a problem—it’s an epidemic. If you or a loved one has had a medication overdose, you may want to contact a medication overdose lawyer. By contacting a medication overdose lawyer in the DC area, a Washington metropolitan area family can hold drug companies accountable for the loss of their loved one, who died as a result of a medication overdose.
In January 2019, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that more than 130 people in the U.S. die every day due as a result of an opioid overdose. It’s staggering information. It’s a crisis.
According to the NIDA, there were 244 overdose deathsÂÂÂ involving opioids in Washington, D.C. In 2017. That is a rate of 34.7 deaths per 100,000 persons, which is much higher compared to the average national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons. These overdose numbers makes Washington DC the third highest rate in the country.
The greatest rise was in deaths that involved synthetic opioids other than methadone (mostly fentanyl), with 13 to 182 cases between 2014-2017. Meanwhile, heroin-involved deaths tripled from 37 to 127 and prescription opioid-involved deaths skyrocketed from 23 to 358 cases.
According to the CDC, Washington, D.C. health care providers wrote 28.5 opioid prescriptions for every 100 persons in 2017. The average U.S. rate of opioid prescriptions in the same year was 58.7 prescriptions per 100 persons.
If your family lost a loved one who was prescribed oxycontin, or another opioid medication drug, your legal rights may entitle you to be able to hold the drug companies accountable and to reach a settlement. Medication overdose lawyers are filing painkiller medication overdose lawsuits against drug companies, like Purdue Pharma, which created OxyContin and is run by highly controversial Sackler family. The drug company is at the center of the opioid crisis, being accused of aggressively pushing the powerful and highly addictive opioid on patients.
If a doctor prescribed you or a loved one Oxycontin or another opioid medication you could be entitled to compensation. if you became addicted to painkillers or medications you could be entitled to compensation. If you overdosed on legal or illegal drugs, you could be entitled to compensation.
If you or a loved one had a medication overdose, you may be entitled for compensation for medical expenses, drug rehab programs, lost wages, pain and suffering, burial expenses and punitive damages to punish drug companies.
Medication overdose lawsuits can be delicate situations, that is why if is often a grieving family’s best bet to contact a a medication overdose lawyer who can treat a client with respect during these trying times.
If you or a family member in the Washington DC area has had a medication overdose, securing legal counsel from a personal injury lawyer can be one of your biggest assets if you file a lawsuit. If you or someone you know is in the DC area and looking to file a lawsuit due to a medication overdose, you can reach us at a 24/7 live phone answering. So, if you need a DC lawyer who handles medication overdoses, contact Cohen & Cohen our DC Law Firm today.
