Erie County, Pennsylvania, may be entitled to recover damages from prescription opioid producers and marketers in Erie County, PA opioid litigation. Erie County has suffered significant losses due to the opioid epidemic. According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) data, Erie County (total population 280,566) experienced a 32% 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 32.
The Erie County Coroner’s Office reported 95 drug-related deaths in 2016. Opioids fentanyl and heroin were involved in 38 and 37 of those deaths, respectively.
Cause and Recovery of Erie County
Opioid-Related Costs
Prescription opioid manufacturers have created widespread opioid addiction by aggressively marketing prescription opioids and making false claims regarding their addictive nature. This illicit marketing has caused an opioid crisis in Erie County resulting in excessive economic and other losses for which Erie County may be entitled to compensation. Counties and other governmental subdivisions are filing lawsuits against opioid prescription manufacturers and marketers, seeking compensation for losses caused by these practices.
An MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) was formed on December 5, 2017, to bolster the efficiency of pre-trial and discovery phases of federal opioid litigation. Federal opioid cases instituted by governmental entities such as Erie County will be filed in the MDL court in the Northern District of Ohio for this aspect 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.]
Erie County, PA Opioid Information & Resources
- Erie County, PA Drug & Alcohol Abuse
- Erie County, PA Heroin Overdose Awareness
- NEWS: Drug-Related Deaths Hit Triple Digits in Erie County, 2017
- NEWS: 2017 Deadliest Year for Erie County Drug Overdoses
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 Erie 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 Erie County, PA opioid litigation.