Fears Nachawati Law Firm: Resolution of key settlement sticking point brings relief closer for communities ravaged by opioid addiction
DALLAS – An agreement between the Texas Attorney General’s office and a group of Texas cities and counties ravaged by highly addictive prescription opioids clears the way for a settlement of litigation that could bring monetary relief to communities battling the opioid addiction epidemic, trial lawyers with Dallas-based Fears Nachawati Law Firm said Thursday.
The agreement announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton provides structure to any future settlements with manufacturers, distributers and retailers that played in a role in flooding communities with prescription painkillers like Purdue Pharma’s Oxycontin. The agreement ensures that settlement funds will be properly channeled to the local and regional level so that the money can be spent where it’s needed most, said trial lawyer Matthew McCarley, part of a Fears Nachawati legal team that represents numerous cities, counties and local government entities in opioid litigation in Texas and nationwide.
“These cities and counties have learned from the mistakes of the Big Tobacco settlement in the 1990s, where funds intended for communities disappeared in the state’s coffers,” Mr. McCarley said. “It is critically important that a structure is in place before a settlement is approved to make sure that funds reach these communities to provide critical relief on the ground.”
The agreement guarantees that the state and local governments will each receive 15 percent of any settlement, with the remaining 70 percent administered by the Texas Opioid Council to be dispersed to 20 regional healthcare partnerships that operate treatment programs across Texas.
With a team of nationally respected trial lawyers with expertise in representing public entities in multidistrict litigation against pharmaceutical companies, distributers and retailers, Fears Nachawati has played a leadership role in litigation on the behalf of states, regional governments, public hospitals and other public entities battling the opioid epidemic.
Fears Nachawati Law Firm represents individuals, businesses and public entities in cases involving business interruption insurance disputes, medical device and pharmaceutical liability, environmental damage claims, and serious personal injury and wrongful death. For more information on the firm, visit https://www.fnlawfirm.com.
Contact:
Robert Tharp
Androvett Legal Media
800-559-4534
robert@androvett.com