Beasley Allen Files Opioid Lawsuit On Behalf Of The State Of Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Beasley Allen has joined Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in filing a complaint on behalf of the State of Alabama against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, L.P., one of the largest opioid manufacturers in the country. The complaint alleges Purdue's marketing of these drugs contributed to the creation of the opioid epidemic, an Alabama public health and safety crisis. The state is represented by Beasley Allen lawyers Rhon E. Jones, who is head of the firm's Toxic Torts Section and who in this case is acting as Deputy Attorney General, Principal & Founder Jere Beasley, Richard D. Stratton, William R. Sutton and J. Ryan Kral, together with Joshua P. Hayes, who also is acting as Deputy Attorney General, and Robert F. Prince of Prince, Glover & Hayes law firm in Tuscaloosa.

"Alabama's opioid crisis has been, and is still being, fueled by pharmaceutical manufacturer Purdue," Jones said. "Purdue primarily manufactures and sells opioids, and is misrepresenting the risks of these highly addictive painkillers, plainly putting profits over people. The rampant use and abuse of opioids is devastating to both the citizens of and the State of Alabama."

Economic damages resulting from the opioid epidemic include costs for providing medical care, therapeutic care and treatments for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease, including overdoses and deaths; costs for providing counseling and rehabilitation services; costs for treating infants born with opioid-related medical conditions; public safety and law enforcement expenses; and care for children whose parents suffer from opioid-related disability or incapacitation.

Purdue manufactures, markets, and sells prescription opioid pain medications, including the brand name drugs OxyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid/Dilaudid HP, Butrans, Hysingla ER, and Targiniq ER, as well as generic opioids. OxyContin constitutes roughly 30 percent of the entire market for analgesic drugs (painkillers). Purdue's drugs compose a majority of the extended release market, for use with chronic non-cancer pain patients, which is the most dangerous method of use. Prescription opioids constitute the largest component of the opioid epidemic, both in quantity and damage caused.

The complaint is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division. In addition to AG Marshall, the state is represented by Corey L. Maze, Special Deputy Attorney General; Winfield J. Sinclair, Assistant Attorney General; and Michael G. Dean, Assistant Attorney General.

About Beasley Allen Law Firm

Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Beasley Allen is comprised of more than 70 attorneys and 200 support staff. One of the largest Plaintiffs law firms in the country, Beasley Allen is a national leader in civil litigation, with verdicts and settlements in excess of $26 billion. The firm's founder, Jere Beasley, is included in the Lawdragon Hall of Fame. Beasley Allen was one of only 12 firms in the nation named by Law360 to its Most Feared Plaintiffs Firms list in 2015, and the firm was included on the National Law Journal Midsize Law Firm Hot List and the NLJ Elite Trial Lawyers List in 2014. Three of the firm's 2016 verdicts, involving talcum powder ovarian cancer litigation, were included in the National Law Journal Top 100 Verdicts. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.beasleyallen.com.

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