If you or a loved one suffered an opioid injury in Tampa, Florida, you might be entitled to monetary compensation. Our Tampa opioid injury lawyers at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers can help protect your rights and work to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Contact our law offices or call (813) 222-8656 to arrange a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers. We’ll go over your case and discuss your options. Give us a call today in Tampa, FL.
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How Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers Can Help You Pursue a Claim After an Opioid Injury in Florida
Proving that a pharmaceutical company or medical professional is responsible for your injury is no simple feat. Both groups have aggressive, experienced attorneys working for them — so should you.
At Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers, our personal injury lawyers are skilled at handling medical malpractice cases. We know what to look for and how best to protect your interests.
We believe in treating our clients with the utmost integrity and professionalism. You’ve been through enough and should be able to relax, knowing your case is in excellent hands.
If you hire us to represent you in your opioid injury case, our Tampa personal injury lawyers at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers can help you with the following:
- Investigate the case to understand the facts
- Secure evidence to prove your claim and get leading Opioid experts to testify in your case
- Provide legal advice and offer our recommendations on the most effective strategy
- Negotiate a settlement with the defendants and fight to maximize your settlement
If defendants don’t make a fair settlement offer, we won’t hesitate to take them to court and represent you at trial. You can trust that we’ll always go the distance to get you results.
What Are Opioids?
Derived from the poppy plant, opioids provide pain relief but also bring on a number of dangerous effects. Doctors prescribe opioids in the form of painkillers, although street drugs like heroin are also considered opioids.
Prescription opioids block pain signals from the body to the brain and primarily treat moderate to severe pain. In addition to controlling pain, opioids help people feel relaxed and happy and can often be addictive.
The common types of opioid medications are:
- Prescription opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin
- Fentanyl a synthetic opioid with 50-100 times more potency than morphine
What Harm Does Opioid Usage Cause?
A study on long-term opioid therapy revealed that opioid prescriptions had increased significantly over two decades. The more people use this drug, the more the rate of misuse and the increased risk to their health.
Opioid misuse or medication error can lead to one or more of the following health effects:
- Cardiovascular events (e.g., slowed breathing)
- Bowel obstruction (constipation)
- Nausea
- Confusion
- Hormonal dysfunction
- Drowsiness
- Liver and brain damage
As you can see, the health effects of opioid use can be severe.
How Common Is Opioid Injury in Florida?
Research shows that nearly 68% of the 4,698 drug overdose deaths in Florida in 2018 were the result of opioids. The percentage amounts to 3,189 fatalities. That same year, medical providers in Florida wrote 53.7% opioid prescriptions for every 100 people, compared to the average rate in the U.S. of 51.4%.
The high rate of opioid prescriptions led to a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), which mandates that physicians and pharmacists provide a list of detailed information before filling any prescription for controlled substances. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor offense, leaving the offender open to criminal and civil liabilities.
Who Pays Compensation in an Opioid Injury Case?
The negligent party in an opioid case may be pharmaceutical companies or medical professionals (e.g., pharmacist, medical doctor, or hospital).
Pharmaceutical Companies
Pharmaceutical companies may be liable if they failed to warn the public of a defect in a drug or if they marketed a drug they knew to be defective. Since the opioid crisis in the U.S. began, several “Big Pharma” companies have paid settlements to victims. If you’re one of the victims, our personal injury lawyers can help you get the compensation you deserve.
Medical Professionals
Medical providers are held to the highest standard of care, including administering the right drug dosage. This also applies to prescribing the appropriate drugs for an ailment, telling patients how to use them, and explaining the possible risks and side effects.
Damages Recoverable in an Opioid Injury Case in Florida
If you win your opioid injury claim, you may be entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Diminished life quality
- Emotional distress
- In-home nursing
This is far from an exhaustive list, however. Our attorneys can help you receive every cent you deserve after an injury.
Let the Experienced Florida Opioid Injury Lawyers at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers Help
If you were a victim of opioid misuse or medication error in Florida, you deserve compensation from those responsible for your injuries.
Our Tampa opioid injury lawyers at Catania & Catania Injury Lawyers have years of experience helping victims maximize their compensation through settlements or verdicts, and we’ll work hard to do the same for you.
Contact us today for a free case review. We operate on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing unless we win. You have nothing to lose by giving us a call today to get started.
