Chester County, Pennsylvania, may be entitled to recover damages from prescription opioid marketers and manufacturers in Chester County, PA opioid litigation. Chester County has sustained losses as a direct result of the opioid epidemic. According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) data, Chester County (total population 498,886) experienced a 53% increase in overdose deaths from 2015 to 2016. Most of these overdoses were from opioids fentanyl and heroin. See DEA Analysis of Overdose Deaths in Pennsylvania, 2016, (U) Appendix Figure 23.
The Chester County Coroner’s Office reported presence of the opioid fentanyl in almost 72% of County deaths in 2017. This was a 35% increase in drug-related deaths between 2016 and 2017. The Office also reported a sharp rise in illegal synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, in 2017.
Chester County reported 339 overdose deaths between 2015 and 2018. Most of these deaths involved the opioid heroin. The next most frequent drug involvement in these deaths was the opioid fentanyl.
Cause and Recovery of Chester County
Opioid-Related Costs
Producers and marketers of prescription opioid medications have caused rampant opioid addiction and abuse through false and aggressive product advertisement. These illicit marketing ploys have resulted in an opioid crisis within Chester County and consequent costs related thereto.
Governmental entities throughout the country are seeking damages for opioid epidemic related costs through legal action against prescription opioid makers and marketers. An MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) was formed on December 5, 2017, to increase the efficiency of discovery and pre-trial phases of federal opioid litigation. Federal opioid cases brought by governmental entities such as Chester County will be filed in the MDL court in the Northern District of Ohio for this part of the litigation.
[See Pennsylvania Opioid Government Litigation Lawyers for additional details about the economic burdens of the opioid epidemic, causes of action, and recoverable damages.]
Chester County, PA Opioid Information & Resources
- Chester County Overdose Deaths
- Chester County Coroner’s Office Reports Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses in 2017
- Chester County Overdose Prevention Task Force Symposium
- NEWS: Fentanyl Major Factor in Surge of Chester County Drug Deaths
Pennsylvania Opioid Information & Resources
- Drug Presence in Pennsylvania, 1999-2016
- Cocaine / Fentanyl Combination in Pennsylvania
- Overdose Free PA
- DEA: Pennsylvania Drug Overdose Deaths Jump 37% in 2016
- Commonwealth Prevention Alliance Stop Opiate Abuse Campaign
- Pennsylvania: Treating and Preventing Opioid Addiction
- Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs: Opioid / Heroin Reversal (Naloxone)
- DEA Analysis of Overdose Deaths in Pennsylvania, 2016
Other Opioid Information
- CDC Foundation’s New Business Pulse Focuses on Opioid Overdose Epidemic
- Federal Opioid Litigation Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse: Opioids
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Opioid Medications
Inquire About Chester County, PA Opioid Litigation
Feldman & Pinto, P.C., is a Philadelphia based personal injury firm concentrating their practice in pharmaceutical litigation and medical malpractice. We are part of a team of lawyers engaged in a fight to compensate local governmental entities for costs incurred as a result of the opioid epidemic.
Please contact us to inquire about the possibility of commencing Chester County, PA opioid litigation.