Legal Review: Opioid Deaths Have Skyrocketed Among Young Adults in the U.S.

By Personal Injury Attorney Theodore DiSalvo of Kogan & DiSalvo, P.A.

According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control, opioids are now responsible for one out of every five deaths among young adults in the United States.

Opioid use and abuse has spread throughout the American population, and its negative impacts continue to grow. As of 2016, opioids were involved in 1.5 percent of all deaths in the United States. This means that opioids caused more deaths than high blood pressure, HIV/AIDS and pneumonia. It also represents one tenth of the deaths caused by cancer.

“The increase in the availability of opioids via prescription and the ability of young adults to access the medications through the medicine cabinets of their parents has created the perfect environment for this increase,” said Theodore DiSalvo, an Opioid Epidemic Lawsuit Attorney with the law firm of Kogan & DiSalvo.

When the access is a result of improper prescribing, individuals must be held accountable for the loss of life that results.

The death of a loved one due to an opioid overdose should not be chalked up to bad luck or addictive personality by the family. Many times, the addiction and overdose can be indirectly traced back to the aggressive sales tactics used by the drug companies to drive prescription rates and profits.

Families that watched a young member of their family succumb to their battles with addiction understand the frustration that comes with not being able to correctly stand in front of someone and obtain answers.

Attorneys across the country are working to change this by seeking to hold the large pharmaceutical companies responsible for the explosion of opioid availability, the goal being to see a drastic decrease in the number of individuals affected, while also providing those that have experienced the pain and suffering associated with the loss of a child an opportunity to seek some sort of monetary compensation.

As the opioid epidemic continues to rage, these statistics will continue to impact real families. It will also continue to place an increasing burden on the overall public health care system, which is strained enough caring for baby boomers and their parents.

Drastic changes must be made to stop this epidemic and attorneys will continue to be on the front lines with parents seeking justice for their lost loved one.