CHARLESTON — Four lawsuits have been filed against the federal government and several pharmaceutical companies alleging they are at fault for children born addicted to opioids.
Johnson & Johnson; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, McKinsey & Company, the United States and the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy were all named as defendants in the suit.
J.J., as next friend of P.R.J.; K.D., as next friend of B.R.D.; Nancy Rust, as next friend of B.C.C.; and M.P., as next friend of B.P.P. filed the lawsuits on behalf of children who were exposed to oxycodone prior to their births, according to the four lawsuits filed in Kanawha, Greenbrier, Raleigh and Wyoming circuit courts.
The four children were born addicted to opioids via prenatal exposure, which caused them severe withdrawal symptoms and lasting developmental impacts.
The plaintiffs will require years of treatment and counseling to deal with the effects of prenatal exposure to opioid medications. The minor children's birth mothers obtained oxycodone pills both legally through prescriptions and also from criminal drug dealers.
The plaintiffs' experience is part of an opioid epidemic sweeping the country that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States and hundreds of thousands of infants to be born suffering and having developmental issues.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by W. Stuart Calwell Jr., L. Dante diTrapano, Alex McLaughlin and Benjamin D. Adams of Calwell Luce diTrapano; and P. Rodney Jackson of the Law Offices of P. Rodney Jackson.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 21-C-594, Greenbrier Circuit Court case number: 21-C-57, Raleigh Circuit Court case number: 21-C-197, Wyoming Circuit Court case number: 21-C-68