Co-Founder and Managing Partner Harry Nelson was interviewed by Bloomberg Law in a comparison of the current United States Opioid Litigation to the asbestos litigation and later regulation of the late 20th century. Though many lead the comparison of the Opioid Epidemic to the Big Tobacco controversy of the 1990s, many experts are likening the current crisis to the lawsuits originally against Asbestos use.
From the article:
But the asbestos litigation is closer to the opioid legal action, lawyers familiar with both situations told Bloomberg Law. The suits against asbestos manufacturers for its cancer-causing product have dragged on for nearly 30 years, bankrupted multiple companies, and generated billions in payouts, said Harry Nelson, founder of the Los Angeles-based health-care firm Nelson Hardiman.
Like the opioid litigation, the asbestos lawsuits include a wide array of players with varying levels of liability, making it virtually impossible to reach the kind of universal settlement that was achieved in the Big Tobacco case. And as various companies in the industry go bankrupt, the survivors could find themselves holding the bag.