Close to 2,000 towns, cities and counties have filed federal lawsuits against several drug companies for the role they played in the recent opioid crisis. The claim is that the drug companies have failed to properly control the number of prescriptions that doctors have been writing for painkillers for years. That negligence is a significant factor in our current opioid epidemic. 

The Opioid Crisis in Missouri

While every state has been impacted by the opioid epidemic, our focus is Missouri, our home state. The most recent statistics tell us that: 

• In St. Louis County, there are 47.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year. 

• By contrast, there are 20 deaths per 100,000 people across the entire State of Missouri.

• Between 2013 and 2017, there were 744 opioid-related deaths in the county and more than 6,000 in the state.

• The poverty rate in St. Louis is 25%, and 14.6% in the state.

Many factors play into opioid overdose deaths, including poverty rate, health issues, and the lack of access to proper healthcare. 

Get Help From Your St. Louis Personal Injury Attorneys

If you have lost a loved one to an opioid overdose, we want to express our sympathies for your loss. Please know that you have legal rights and that you can bring a lawsuit of your own if you choose. Your St. Louis personal injury attorneys are here to help.