Lawyers representing babies born dependant on opioids are seeking to separate their lawsuit from nationwide litigation against opioid manufacturers, according to Politico.
The lawyers argue opioid-dependent babies are more vulnerable than other parties of the lawsuit and need their own "legal path."
The team of attorneys seek medical bill relief for their baby clients who may face long-term health problems. Courts should fund a long-term medical program monitoring health from infancy to adulthood, they argue. And opioid makers and distributors should provide evidence from clinical trials that "might shed light" on how opioids affect children, they say.
But the federal judge tasked with overseeing the lawsuit against opioids makers and distributors has encouraged local governments, hospitals, patients and Native American tribes who have filed separate lawsuits to reach a single settlement.
The proposed lawsuit sum could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The first of the opioid trials is set to take place in September 2019.
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