Native American tribes call for separate opioid lawsuit against drug makers

Native American tribes devastated by the opioid epidemic asked a judge to set up a separate track for their lawsuits targeting makers and distributors of the painkillers for creating a public-health crisis (Source: “Native Americans Demanding Chance to Try Opioid Suits Separately,” Bloomberg News, May 10, 2018).

Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska, the Winnebago Tribe and others feel “marginalized’’ by having their cases lumped in with states’ opioid claims, David Domina, a lawyer for the tribes, told U.S. District Judge Daniel Polster Thursday. Polster is overseeing more than 600 lawsuits blaming opioid makers, such as Purdue Pharma LP and Johnson & Johnson, and distributors like McKesson Corp. of understating the risks of prescription opioids, overstating their benefits, and failing to halt suspiciously large shipments to pharmacies. States, local governments and Indian tribes are seeking to recoup the costs of dealing with waves of opioid addictions.

Polster, who has been pressing for a quick resolution of the suits, said he’d consider the request.

“If there is a resolution, it won’t be without’’ the tribes’ consent, the judge said.

Because of the havoc opioid addiction is wreaking among native people, tribal leaders felt “the need to speak out’’ against being lumped in with other groups, Domina said at a hearing in Cleveland. The Omaha, Nebraska-based lawyer represents all the tribes in his state. More than 30 other tribes, including the Cherokee Nation and the Navajo Nation, have filed suits over the fallout from opioid addictions.