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Suboxone manufacturers have failed to provide adequate warning labels. If you have used Suboxone and have developed Severe Tooth Decay, Dental Caries, or Oral Infections, you may be entitled to compensation.
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At the upcoming case management conference, parties will review recent developments in both plaintiff and defense discovery. On the plaintiff side, the Revised Schedule A has been submitted, census forms completed, and work is ongoing to finalize protocols for Core Discovery and the Bellwether Trial Pool. Additional proposals are expected before the May conference. On the defense side, there are no current disputes regarding 30(b)(6) deposition notices, and defendants have agreed to produce the full regulatory file for Sublocade. Plaintiffs have withdrawn their request for “inject*” search terms. Other topics include medical record compliance, new case updates, and joinder procedures.
Plaintiffs in the Suboxone MDL have issued a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition notice to Indivior Defendants, requesting testimony on the company’s corporate structure and operations related to Suboxone Film. The deposition will address management hierarchy, departmental responsibilities, regulatory compliance, marketing, and recordkeeping. Indivior is also required to produce key documents, such as organizational charts and third-party contracts. Under Rule 30(b)(6), a corporation must designate a witness to testify on its behalf, and the testimony is binding on the company. This ensures that corporations must align their story, holding them accountable under oath in legal proceedings.
Judge Calabrese has issued Case Management Order No. 14, allowing up to 100 plaintiffs to file under a single complaint with one initial filing fee. This reduces costs, simplifies case management, and avoids thousands of separate lawsuits. Each joint complaint must include plaintiff-specific allegations, organized alphabetically with key details. The Crosslink database will manage these claims, ensuring accessibility. Filing counsel must properly format and upload plaintiff information. While defendants are temporarily exempt from filing answers, they retain the right to challenge claims. This order enhances efficiency, preventing procedural disputes while maintaining an organized litigation process.
Following the formation of the Suboxone MDL, concerns over looming statute of limitations deadlines led to a surge in filings by June 2024. To prevent overwhelming the court and reduce unnecessary filing fees, Judge Calabrese allowed a consolidated lawsuit known as the Schedule A case, covering approximately 9,600 plaintiffs. Many were still compiling necessary documentation. Recently, this number has been reduced to 8,611 as attorneys dismissed non-viable claims. A new court order is expected to address the upcoming statute of limitations deadlines, ensuring an organized filing process and avoiding similar challenges in the future.
The Suboxone tooth decay lawsuit involves cases against the pharmaceutical company behind the opioid addiction treatment, Suboxone. Claimants allege that the medication causes severe dental issues, including tooth decay, cavities, and even tooth loss.
Suboxone, which contains two main ingredients, buprenorphine, and naloxone, has been widely prescribed to help individuals overcome opioid dependence and decrease the severity of withdrawal symptoms. However, many users have reported unexpected and severe oral health problems after long-term use of the drug.
Indivior, the maker of Suboxone, originally manufactured this drug as a tablet. However, they developed Suboxone film in 2010 to compete with the generic version of the drug. Up until 2021, a multitude of cases related to declining oral health were reportedly associated with using Suboxone film, indicating defendants’ awareness of the dental health issues.
The plaintiffs in these lawsuits argue that the drug manufacturers failed to adequately warn patients and healthcare providers about the potential risks of tooth decay and other dental issues associated with Suboxone use. The lawsuits claim that patients could have taken preventive measures or explored alternative treatment options if Indivior had adequately communicated the risks.
In response, the drug manufacturers have maintained that they provided all necessary warnings and instructions regarding the drug’s use, including advising patients to rinse their mouths after taking Suboxone to mitigate dental risks. Indivior had a legal obligation to inform customers of the risks associated with the sublingual film version of this drug.
However, because the company didn’t explicitly warn users about the risk of tooth decay, Indivior breached its duty of care and could be liable for the damages that users incurred. As the lawsuits continue to develop, patients affected by these dental issues are seeking compensation for medical bills, dental treatments, and pain and suffering.
In January of 2022, the FDA required Indivior to include a warning of tooth decay caused by this drug. However, this was too little, too late, as the drug had been on the market for almost 20 years without a tooth decay warning for consumers.
This case raises important questions about the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to fully disclose side effects, especially when the drug in question is used as a long-term treatment for addiction recovery.
Victims who used Suboxone sublingual film to treat opioid dependence are facing significant dental deterioration, tooth and gum injuries, and, in some cases, tooth loss.
A 2012 study by Harvard Medical School highlighted a case where a patient on long-term Suboxone treatment suffered rapid dental deterioration. Researchers suggested that the medication's sublingual delivery and low pH (3.4) may contribute to these dental health problems in patients.
Plaintiffs in the Suboxone lawsuit argue that manufacturers had enough evidence to be aware of the risks but failed to provide adequate warnings, favoring profits over patient safety.
To potentially qualify for the Suboxone tooth decay lawsuit, you must prove the following:
If you meet the above requirements, you may be entitled to compensation. We encourage you to seek legal advice to determine your eligibility. Various factors impact eligibility, and all cases are unique.
To demonstrate that Suboxone directly caused dental problems, plaintiffs must present personalized evidence, such as the victim’s dental records and expert dental assessments. Suboxone-related dental issues include:
You must meet the burden of proof, which means there needs to be a clear connection between Indivior’s actions, your dental issues, and your financial losses because of your medical bills. Your compensation eligibility will depend on the medical evidence documented by your provider, as well as your own statements and documentation.
The Suboxone lawsuits primarily target Indivior, Inc., a pharmaceutical company specializing in treatments for substance use disorders and serious mental illnesses.
Indivior was originally a division of the British company Reckitt Benckiser, but in 2014, Reckitt spun off Indivior as a separate, publicly traded company. Both Indivior and Reckitt, along with their U.S. operating entities, are named as defendants, although primary liability rests with Indivior.
Another key defendant is Aquestive Therapeutics, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company that co-developed Suboxone with Indivior.
In October 2023, Indivior agreed to a $385 million settlement to end cases in a multidistrict litigation.
Please note that there is a broad range of what each individual may receive on a per-case basis. We cannot provide you with an accurate estimate of compensation; however, the potential compensation you could receive will depend on the details of your specific case.
We encourage you to start the process of finding out if you may qualify for a Suboxone class action lawsuit. We can help you stay informed and provide you with the latest updates regarding the lawsuit. Subscribe to OnlyClassActions for further details.
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