Implications for People With Chronic Pain
Several lawsuits have been filed against several opioid manufacturers, distributors, and physicians for participating in what was allegedly a scheme to cause incalculable harm for profit. I am one of the physicians named as an alleged “conspirator.”
The opioid lawsuits are far more than legal matters that involve the defendants. They also have serious implications for people in pain.
The opioid crisis and resulting lawsuits have significantly impacted regulatory scrutiny of prescribing, which in turn has had a chilling effect on physicians who are increasingly unwilling to treat people in pain for fear of losing their license. Unfortunately, the lawsuits and the hyperbolic charges they contain fail to recognize the scientific, medical realities of chronic pain patients.