Bill Would Allow Patients to Sue for Painkiller Addiction

Any person who suffers an injury as a result of an addiction to a prescription drug would be allowed to sue the manufacturer of the drug and possibly the prescribing doctor under provisions of a bill filed in the Nevada Senate.Senate Bill 75, by Richard Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, would create a right for a patient to recover actual damages, any costs associated with rehabilitation for the addiction, attorney fees and punitive damages. The patient would have to prove the prescribing doctor knew or should have known about an existing addiction to the drug he prescribed to prevail in a lawsuit. The ...