Summary
- Suboxone is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder
- The medication is administered via a tablet that dissolves under the tongue
- Exposure to suboxone allegedly injures the teeth, gums, and tongue
Doctors use Suboxone to treat opioid use disorder and reduce the number of fentanyl deaths per year.
Suboxone combines two medications. One is a weak opioid called buprenorphine that fits into the brain’s opioid receptors, producing weak opioid effects. The other is naloxone, which is used to counteract opioid overdoses and reduce the risk of Suboxone abuse.
The medication was originally given to patients as an ingestible pill. However, its manufacturers, Indivior, Inc. and Reckitt Benckiser LLC, switched to a film similar to breath strips that the patient dissolves under their tongue. Unfortunately, this delivery system is highly acidic, leading to potential dental injuries.
Injured users can file a Suboxone lawsuit for losses caused by the product. ConsumerShield helps consumers understand their options and find qualified legal representation. Contact us for a free case review and product liability attorney referral.
Alleged Injuries From Suboxone
Suboxone has many side effects. As an opioid, it can produce euphoria and depressed respiration. It can also cause addiction and relapse in some users.
However, the drug’s manufacturers knew of and warned consumers of these side effects, and doctors presumably consider and discuss them with patients when prescribing Suboxone.
However, the manufacturers failed to warn of potential dental injuries until 2022. This oversight allegedly had two important effects. First, patients were unaware of the risk to their oral tissues and didn’t have enough information to decide whether Suboxone was worth the potential side effects.
Second and more importantly, doctors couldn’t monitor or suggest preventive measures to patients to minimize the side effects. Had they been aware of the high acid content, they could have suggested brushing and flossing, gum chewing, and regular cleanings and checkups to reduce the risk of dental injuries.
Suboxone Lawsuit Update
As of February 2024, injured consumers had filed 15 lawsuits in federal courts against Suboxone’s manufacturers. These users had suffered the following injuries:
- Enamel erosion
- Tooth decay
- Cracked teeth
- Cavities
- Loose crowns
- Tooth loss
- Tongue or cheek pain
The lawsuits were transferred to the Northern District of Ohio by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). This panel can order cases to be handled in a single court by a single judge to make the cases more efficient and less burdensome for the parties.
The MDL is not a Suboxone class action lawsuit — these procedures are different in several respects.
A class action lawsuit is a single lawsuit with multiple plaintiffs. A class action lawyer files the suit on behalf of a group of representative plaintiffs and seeks class certification.
As a result, the claims of all class members stand or fall together. In other words, if the class loses, all of its members lose. If it wins, the class members must share the compensation awarded.
By contrast, an MDL is a litigation procedure allowing separate lawsuits to maintain their individual identities while sharing resources. Specifically, the plaintiffs work together to recover evidence from the defendants, hire experts to testify in their cases, and file motions to determine what they can introduce in their trials.
However, since the lawsuits retain their separate identities, they have separate trials and verdicts. Additionally, a successful plaintiff doesn’t have to share their compensation with other plaintiffs.
Because the MDL was initiated in 2024, most cases aren’t yet ready for trial. The manufacturers probably won’t offer a global Suboxone settlement until at least a few of the cases reach juries. Thus, calculating a Suboxone lawsuit payout per person may not be possible for months or years.
Claims You Can Assert in a Suboxone Tooth Decay Lawsuit
The Suboxone cases fall under product liability law. Manufacturers have strict liability for injuries caused by dangerously defective products. To win a case, your lawyer must prove that the product featured a defect that harmed you in some way.
The plaintiffs in the Suboxone MDL have asserted two distinct defects.
The first is a design defect. The manufacturers knew that their product was acidic and nonetheless designed the product to be held next to the teeth without reducing the acidity or adding a buffer to counteract it. As a result, consumers’ teeth were made vulnerable to erosion.
The plaintiffs also allege a warning defect. The FDA identified tooth decay as a significant side effect of Suboxone in 2022. The plaintiffs have suggested that the manufacturers knew about this risk even earlier and failed to notify the FDA or consumers. They claim the lack of a warning made the product dangerous.
When plaintiffs succeed in proving a manufacturer’s liability, they can seek compensation for economic and non-economic losses, such as medical bills, lost income, diminished quality of life, and pain and suffering.
Since Suboxone is prescribed for opioid use disorder, the manufacturers may try to shift blame for any dental injuries to the plaintiff, arguing that they were pre-existing conditions from other problems related to their addictions. They could also allege comparative or contributory negligence if the victim waited to have their teeth examined.
Contact ConsumerShield for Help Finding a Suboxone Lawsuit Attorney
Suboxone has allegedly caused serious injuries that required expensive dental care and led to pain and suffering. At ConsumerShield, our mission is to educate vulnerable consumers and connect them with quality legal representation. Contact us today for a free case review and attorney referral.
