In federal court, a lawsuit that was filed in August 2022 is currently proceeding. Six children from Nashville were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit after they were born addicted to opioids. The opioid distributors and manufacturers are listed on more than 150 pages of the lawsuit. To protect the plaintiffs’ identities, it uses the pseudonyms “Baby Doe” and “Baby Roe.” The children range in age of two to eight years old. One of the mothers spoke out after her teenage daughter was found dead near Cookeville; According to Tricia Herzfeld, a partner at the law firm Branstetter, Strang & Jennings, who represents the children and their legal guardians,
“It’s the first case we’ve done with only children who were born dependent on opioids.” The suspect has been arrested. The mothers must deal with a difficult and complicated tale, right? They have been through a lot, some of them still have addictions, and they have had to watch their children grow up with the consequences of their actions.
Following claims that every newborn is dependent on opioids at birth, a long list of retailers and pharmacies in Davidson County are accused of operating “pill mills” in the lawsuit.
According to Herzfeld, “they essentially knew their drugs were going into the illicit drug market and continued to benefit from knowing where the drugs were going.” The case was first filed in August, but it is now being moved to federal court. According to the lawsuit, the babies are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, refusing to eat, and occasionally crying uncontrollably. Herzfeld stated, “We intend to sue as many children as possible who were dependent on opioids when they were born in Tennessee.”
The state will have 824 babies born in 2020 with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), according to the lawsuit. Infants born to opioid-dependent mothers are affected. It’s a reality that Re-establishment House staff see consistently. The director of the program, Savak Millis, said that they frequently house mothers who don’t realize what they put in their bodies until it’s too late. Women and their children can receive specialized addiction treatment at House of Renewal. In Middle Tennessee, they are the only “long-term family housing program that treats women and their children together.” Through its programs, the organization has assisted more than 8,000 women and children since its inception.
