{"id":31537,"date":"2019-05-16T16:14:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T21:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=31537"},"modified":"2019-05-16T16:21:07","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T21:21:07","slug":"precedent-setting-opioid-trial-to-begin-in-oklahoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/05\/16\/precedent-setting-opioid-trial-to-begin-in-oklahoma\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Precedent setting\u2019 opioid trial to begin in Oklahoma"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_31538\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31538\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-1920x1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-6-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cleveland County courthouse in Norman, Oklahoma, where the state&#8217;s opioid trial will take place.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A case that could signal the outcome of a flood of litigation against opioid drug manufacturers begins May 28th in Oklahoma. \u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bench trial is poised to be the first of its kind to play out in court. <\/span><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/621757401&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okla. Attorney General Mike <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hunter\u2019s suit alleges Johnson and Johnson and Teva pharmaceuticals helped ignite a public health crisis that has killed thousands of state residents.<\/span><!--more--><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Court filings accuse the companies of overstating the benefits of opioids and understating their risks in marketing campaigns that duped doctors into prescribing the drugs for ailments not approved by regulators.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The companies have a broad concern about what their liability might be, says University of Kentucky law professor <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/law.uky.edu\/directory\/richard-c-ausness\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Richard Ausness<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis case will set a precedent,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Oklahoma loses, of course, they\u2019ll appeal if they lose, but the defendants may have to reconsider their strategy.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With hundreds of similar cases pending, the state\u2019s strategy will be closely watched.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAnd of course lurking in the background is the multistate litigation in Cleveland, where there will ultimately be a settlement in all likelihood, but the size of the settlement and the terms of the settlement may be influenced by Oklahoma,\u201d Ausness said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most states and more than 1,600 local and tribal governments are suing drugmakers and distributors. They are trying to recoup billions of dollars spent on addressing the fallout tied to opioid addiction. <\/span><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/law.stanford.edu\/directory\/nora-freeman-engstrom\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nora Freeman Engstrom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a professor at Stanford Law school, said lawyers in the other cases and the general public will finally get a chance to see what proof Hunter\u2019s office offers the court. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019ll all be seeing what evidence is available, what evidence isn\u2019t available and just how convincing that evidence is,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, Hunter\u2019s lawsuit included Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. In March, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/03\/27\/707093263\/oklahoma-attorney-general-on-purdue-pharma-settlement\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Purdue Pharma settled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the state for $270 million dollars. Soon after, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/04\/04\/710101827\/oklahoma-drops-some-claims-to-refocus-lawsuit-against-opioid-makers\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hunter dropped all but one of the civil claims<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including fraud, against the remaining defendants.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But he still thinks the case is strong. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe have looked at literally millions of documents, taken hundreds of depositions, and we are even more convinced that these companies are the proximate cause for the epidemic in our state and in our country,\u201d Hunter said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the legal case is complicated. Unlike tobacco, where <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/publichealthlawcenter.org\/topics\/tobacco-control\/tobacco-control-litigation\/master-settlement-agreement\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">states won a landmark settlement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Ausness says opioids serve a medical purpose. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with producing opioids. It\u2019s regulated and approved by the Federal Drug Administration, the sale is overseen by the Drug Enforcement Administration, so there\u2019s a great deal of regulation in the production and distribution and sale of opioid products,\u201d Ausness said. \u201cThey are useful products so this is not a situation where the product is defective in some way.\u201d <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s an argument that has found some traction in court. Recently, a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Dakota judge dismissed all of that state&#8217;s claims against Purdue, a big court win for the company. In a written ruling Judge James Hill questioned the idea of blaming a company that makes a legal product for the deaths. &#8220;Purdue cannot control how doctors prescribe its products and it certainly cannot control how individual patients use and respond to its products,&#8221; the judge wrote, &#8220;regardless of any warning or instruction Purdue may give.&#8221; The state says it will appeal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now the Oklahoma case rests entirely on a claim of public nuisance, which <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">refers to actions that harm members of the public, including injury to public health.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s sexy you know, \u2018public nuisance\u2019 makes it sound like the defendants are really bad,\u201d Ausness said. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the state&#8217;s claim prevails, Big Pharma could have to spend billions of dollars in Oklahoma helping ease the epidemic. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t diminish the amount of damages we believe we&#8217;ll be able to justify to the judge,&#8221; Hunter said, estimating a final payout could run into the &#8220;billions of dollars.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hunter\u2019s decision to go it alone and not join with a larger consolidated case could mean a quicker resolution for the state, or no money all, Ausness says. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cParticularly when we\u2019re talking about AG\u2019s, who are politicians, who want to be able to tell the people, \u2018gee this is what I\u2019ve done for you\u2019 \u00a0they are not interested in waiting two or three years [for a settlement], they want it now,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course the risk of that is you may lose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Oklahomans waiting for treatment<\/h4><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma has the second highest uninsured rate in the nation and little money for public health. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greg and Judy, who don\u2019t want their last name used for fear of losing their jobs, say they haven\u2019t been able to find the integrated treatment that Greg needs for both his opioid addiction and his bipolar disorder. It\u2019s either one or the other. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey don\u2019t give you like a treatment plan for both,\u201d Judy said. \u201cThey just say \u2018here you can talk to this person\u2019 they don\u2019t recognize that it\u2019s like self-medicating.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31539\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31539\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-1920x1148.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-1920x1148.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-672x402.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-768x459.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-620x371.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/05\/Opiod-1-1806x1080.jpg 1806w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Jackie Fortier \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Greg and Judy hold hands at their home in Guthrie, Okla. The couple can&#8217;t find integrated mental health and opioid addiction treatment in their area.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The couple live in Guthrie, about an hour north of the courthouse where the opioid trial will take place. Greg says he\u2019s been addicted to opioids for 11 years. People with prescriptions sell him their pills &#8211; sometimes Greg binges and takes 400 milligrams of morphine at once, a huge dose. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the $270 million Purdue settlement, $200 million is earmarked for an addiction research and treatment center in Tulsa, though no details have been released. Judy hopes that it may provide comprehensive treatment that can help Greg. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI wish he would stop using [opioids] but I love him. I\u2019ll always be here,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter\u2019s suit alleges Johnson and Johnson and Teva pharmaceuticals helped ignite a public health crisis that has killed thousands of state residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":31543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[879,1084,765],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31545,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31537\/revisions\/31545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}