Doctors Face Pain Medication Lawsuits and Prescription Opioid Overdose Claims

In our last post, we discussed the overwhelming number of cases involving victims overdosing on prescription pain medications, often with deadly results. This dovetails with the reality that millions of Americans must cope with significant pain as a part of their daily life.

Opioid overdoses are considered the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 50 years old.

As injury attorneys advocating for accident victims and their families, we understand how life-altering it can be to deal with pain after an injury or surgery.  Pain can be debilitating.  In many serious cases of traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injuries suffered in a serious accident it is irreparable and permanent.

Pain medication is necessary, and when properly prescribed, it can be a Godsend.  The problems arise when doctors put profits over people, and negligently or fraudulently dole out prescription pain medication to their patients for their own purposes.

In these instances, criminal actions can be filed based upon federal and state law.  For example, murder charges were filed against a doctor in Oklahoma with a pain management practice after five of her patients died from opioid overdoses.

These criminal cases will work to punish the wrongdoer, but they do not act to provide financial justice to the individual victim of the bad acts.  That is left to civil causes of action, which can be filed under the laws of Indiana or Illinois.

Claims for Victims of Pain Medication Overdose

There have been very few lawsuits filed thus far against individual providers for their culpability in pain medication prescription abuse or neglect.  However, some cases have been filed in various states and they provide an example for victims and a warning for doctors (and others, including pharmacists).  Additionally, insurance carriers providing policies for physicians are warning their policyholders of the growing risk of pharmaceutical liability lawsuits.

These cases may include:

1. Claims doctors are prescribing unnecessary medication because the patient did not need pain pills;
2. Claims doctors are over-prescribing pain medication because there are alternatives that could be used to help the patient manage their pain instead of the dangerous opioid;
3. Claims doctors are prescribing pain medication without identifying that their patient is addicted to the drug;
4. Claims doctors are prescribing pain medication for longer time periods than necessary. The longer the patient is taking pain pills, the higher the risk that he or she will become addicted to the opioid;
5. Claims doctors are not checking into the patient’s medical background and personal health sufficiently to determine if they have pre-existing conditions that make it very dangerous for them to take any pain medication (such as sleep apnea);
6. Claims doctors are not investigating their patients to prevent new health issues from advancing due to taking the pain medication (e.g., respiratory problems, weakness, etc.);
7. Claims doctors are allowing “opioid rotation” where the patient’s pain prescription is changed from one opioid to another and thereby risking the patient serious harm from an increasing strength in the newer drug protocol or even death from an interaction with the two medications; and
8. Claims doctors allow the patient to become addicted to the pain medication which pushed them into street drugs (heroin, fentanyl analogues) that resulted in their wrongful death.

See: Dineen, Kelly K., and James M. DuBois. “Between a rock and a hard place: can physicians prescribe opioids to treat pain adequately while avoiding legal sanction?.”  American Journal of Law & Medicine 42.1 (2016): 7-52.

Doctor’s Duty of Care

Under the laws of both Indiana and Illinois, physicians who practice medicine within the state are held to a legal duty of care towards their patients.  If they fail in that duty of care, as defined by state law, then they can be legally liable for medical malpractice.

In the case of pain medications, if the doctor provides his or her patient with a prescription for opioids (fentanyl; oxycodone; hydrocodone; etc.), then he can be in violation of that legal duty of care in several ways. 

Medical Malpractice for Pain Medications and Opioid Overdose

Medical malpractice claims based upon opioid overdose and pain medication prescriptions might involve breaches of duty in:

• The amount of the prescribed opioid dosage;
• The particular opioid pain medication he chose to prescribe;
• The failure to investigate how this opioid pain medication would interact with other medications the patient was taking;
• The failure to investigate how this opioid pain medication would impact any existing medical conditions (sleep apnea, etc.);
• The failure to determine if the particular type of opioid pain medication was necessary over alternative pain management;
• The failure to monitor the patient while taking the opioid pain medication for signs of addiction;
• The failure to monitor the patient while taking the opioid pain medication for potential health issues (e.g., respiratory concerns, etc.);
• The failure of the doctor to monitor nurse practitioners (or physician assistants) involved in the treatment of patients suffering severe pain; or
• The failure of the doctor to communicate with therapists, pharmacists, or others involved in the patient’s treatment in making decisions on pain medication as a part of pain management and the treatment of pain.

Doctor’s Defense: Look to Big Pharma

One defense that is already becoming apparent is the physician deflecting responsibility upon the drug manufacturer.  Many doctors argue that they prescribe medications in good faith reliance upon the information provided by the drug makers.

Their position is that these drug manufacturers have deceptively dealt with the doctors.  Their claims against the drug manufacturers can include (1) the marketing tactics and education on the drug itself; or that (2) the drug company may have hid the dangers associated with the prescription drug; or (3) the drug maker may have failed to share known information about how truly addictive the particular pain medication can be.

Suing Doctors for Opioid Overdoses in Indiana and Illinois

Under the laws of both Indiana and Illinois, doctors have a responsibility to their patients that exists independently from any other party.

The physician has a legal duty to his or her patient to prescribe the appropriate pain medication.  This duty is not shared and does not dovetail with any responsibility placed by law upon drug makers, pharmacists, therapists, or nursing staff.

Medical malpractice and wrongful death claims are legal avenues already on the books that exist for those who have been harmed by the failures of a physician in his or her care of a patient.

Sadly, both in our area as well as the rest of the country, we will be seeing more and more lawsuits filed against doctors because of harm caused by prescription pain medications.

Opioid pain medications are extremely strong and pose a high risk of addiction to those who are prescribed opioids for their pain.  If you or a loved one are taking pain medication, be alert to the dangers and aware of the doctor’s duty of care regarding opioids.  Please be careful out there!