How Much Is the Suboxone Lawsuit Going to Payout?

How Much Is the Suboxone Lawsuit Going to Payout?

Dentists across the country are seeing the same pattern: teeth rotting from the inside out, infections spreading fast, and patients stunned that the drug meant to save their lives—Suboxone—left their mouths in ruins. 

Some are losing half their teeth. Others need full dental reconstructions. The worst part is that warnings about this didn’t show up until nearly two decades after the drug hit the market.

If you’re wondering how much the Suboxone lawsuit might pay out—the short answer, it depends on the damages it caused you. To determine these damages, you need a comprehensive medical and dental exam and a careful legal investigation.

At LitigationConnect, our network of lawyers helps people like you get matched with attorneys who know these cases inside and out. Call (833) 552-7274 today or contact us online—a local lawyer will review your case and fight for what you deserve.

What Is the Suboxone Lawsuit About?

Suboxone wasn’t supposed to destroy your teeth. It was supposed to help people kick opioids. But after years of use, countless patients started showing up at dental offices with rotted molars, gum infections, and teeth literally falling apart.

The Core Allegation: Failure to Warn

These lawsuits are built on a specific legal foundation: product liability for failure to warn. That means:

• The manufacturer (Indivior) had a duty to disclose known or foreseeable risks.
• Suboxone film was linked to tooth decay, gum infections, and long-term oral damage.
• The company didn’t update the warning label until 2022—years after reports started surfacing.
• Patients who used the drug before the update had no idea their oral health was at risk.

Different states apply different standards, but the general principle is the same: manufacturers must warn users of non-obvious dangers. For example:

• California Civil Code § 1714.45 holds a manufacturer liable if it fails to warn of risks that a reasonable consumer wouldn't expect.
• New York’s product liability law similarly allows claims when a manufacturer withholds risk information that affects consumer safety.

Key Factors That Decide Your Check Size

Once a drug company gets dragged into federal court over something like tooth loss, the next big question is: What’s your case worth?

It’s not a flat number. No magic calculator spits out a figure. The value of a Suboxone lawsuit depends on how badly the drug messed you up—and how well you can prove it.

The Damage to Your Mouth

Not all dental problems are treated equally. A few cavities don’t carry the same weight as needing implants, bone grafts, or full dentures in your 30s.

The bigger the treatment plan, the bigger the settlement.

• Minor: One or two fillings. Maybe a root canal. You’ll fall into the low payout tier.
• Moderate: Multiple extractions, crowns, or gum disease requiring surgery. That gets you into mid-range territory.
• Severe: Full-mouth restoration, bone loss, facial disfigurement. Now we’re talking six figures—assuming the other pieces fall into place.

It’s not just about the pain—it’s about how much time, money, and physical trauma it takes to fix what Suboxone did to you.

Pain, Suffering, and the Fallout

Pain is subjective, but it still counts—especially when it lasts for years or affects your appearance and confidence.

Lawsuits take this into account:

• Chronic jaw pain or migraines triggered by dental infections.
• Emotional trauma tied to visible damage or tooth loss.
• Depression, isolation, or anxiety related to the disfigurement.

Photos, therapist notes, and personal journals may get pulled into evidence here.

Income Loss and Work Disruption

Dental injuries hit more than your smile. If you had to take time off work, cancel contracts, or change careers because of oral health problems, that loss affects your settlement.

That includes:

• Missed days due to dental surgeries or infections.
• Career limitations if your job involves public speaking, client interaction, or performance.
• Income loss documented by W-2s, tax records, or employer statements.

Even in states with no cap on damages, like Illinois, the jury still expects documentation. You have to show the financial hole you were thrown into—not just say it happened.

Relating Dental Damage Severity to Potential Claim Value

Disclaimer: The following categories illustrate potential levels of dental harm and the associated types of damages sought in Suboxone lawsuits. The cost estimates provided are general examples of potential treatment expenses in the U.S. and do not represent guaranteed settlement values or legal advice. Actual costs vary widely based on location, provider, specific needs, and insurance. The total value of a claim also depends on non-economic damages (like pain and suffering), proof of causation, legal fees, and negotiation outcomes. Each case is unique.

Lower Impact Cases:

• These situations typically involve necessary treatments for issues like a small number of cavities or minor fillings (average costs might range from $100 to $500 per filling, depending on material and complexity) or perhaps one or two basic procedures like crowns (often $800-2,000+ each) or root canals ($700-2,000+ per tooth, before the crown).
• While distressing, the harm might be manageable with no permanent tooth loss and minimal long-term interference with daily life. Total dental expenses might fall into the low-to-mid thousands of dollars.
• Dental records would show treatment but likely not major complications or widespread, rapidly progressing decay linked solely to Suboxone.
• Compensation sought would primarily aim to recover the documented costs of these necessary, limited procedures plus related minor damages for pain and inconvenience.

Moderate Impact Cases:

• These cases involve more significant harm with correspondingly higher treatment costs. Procedures might include multiple extractions ($150-$600+ per tooth, depending on complexity), treatment for ongoing dental infections, or gum disease requiring surgery (periodontal surgery costs can range from $500 to $10,000+ depending on the extent).
• Long-term treatment plans could involve dental bridges (potentially $2,000-5,000+ per bridge replacing one tooth) or partial dentures ($1,000-3,500+). Multiple root canals and crowns could also be needed.
• Total dental treatment costs in these scenarios can easily range from the high thousands well into the tens of thousands of dollars ($10,000-50,000+).
• There may also be documented work disruption, significant emotional strain, or noticeable impact on appearance, supporting claims for non-economic damages. Records often reveal a treatment timeline spanning months or years.
• Claims in this range seek compensation reflecting these higher costs of extensive dental work, potentially documented lost wages, and greater pain and suffering.

Severe Impact Cases:

• At this level, the damage is often permanent, extensive, and requires the most complex and costly interventions. Treatment may involve full-mouth reconstructions, potentially including multiple dental implants ($3,000-6,000+ per implant, including abutment and crown) or full dentures (conventional sets might range from $1,500-5,000+, while implant-supported dentures can cost $15,000-50,000+ per arch).
• Costs can be substantial due to the complexity, potentially involving bone grafts ($200-3,000+ depending on source and size), procedures addressing facial structure changes, or treatments for severe bone loss.
• The total cost for necessary dental work in these severe cases can frequently reach $50,000 to $100,000, and sometimes significantly more.
• Claims often include significant documented lost income (supported by W-2s, tax returns, employer letters) and seek substantial compensation for profound and prolonged pain, suffering, disfigurement, and mental health impacts (like depression or anxiety linked to dental trauma).
• Detailed proof connecting injuries directly to long-term Suboxone film use (before the 2022 warning) will be fundamental. These claims represent the highest potential overall damages due to the combination of extreme economic (treatment costs, lost income) and non-economic losses.

There’s no guarantee your situation falls cleanly into one category. These examples illustrate how the severity of documented harm directly impacts the potential cost of required dental treatment, which forms a major component of the economic damages sought in a legal claim. Lawyers use these documented costs, alongside evidence of other losses and suffering, to build a case and assess its potential value during negotiations or trial.

What You Actually Need to File a Claim

No matter how wrecked your teeth are, no one’s cutting a check without documents to back it up.

Proof You Took Suboxone Film

The film version—not tablets—is the target of this litigation. Without evidence that you used the strips that dissolve under your tongue, your case won’t get traction.

Acceptable documentation includes:

• Pharmacy printouts showing prescriptions for Suboxone film (buprenorphine/naloxone).
• Medical treatment records from addiction clinics.
• Notes from your primary care doctor that reference Suboxone film.
• Insurance claims or EOBs (explanation of benefits) listing the medication type.

Dental Records—Before and After

Dentists keep detailed notes. Those records can show the damage didn’t exist before you started Suboxone and started after you’d been on it for a while. That cause-and-effect is what lawyers use to tie your injuries directly to the drug.

Make sure your dental file includes:

• Pre-treatment X-rays (if they exist).
• Notes documenting the progression of decay or gum disease.
• Procedure history: fillings, root canals, extractions, implants.
• Treatment plans and cost estimates for future work.

If you switched dentists, request records from each office. The more complete the timeline, the stronger your case.

Dates That Actually Matter

As mentioned previously, the warning label changed in 2022. If you started using Suboxone film before that and had dental issues during or after use, the argument for failure to warn carries more legal weight.

Track this timeline:

• First prescription date.
• Last date of use.
• When your dental problems started.
• Dates of major dental procedures.

Line those events up, and the pattern tells your story.

A Lawyer Who Knows What They’re Doing

These cases live inside an MDL, and not every attorney can handle them. You need someone who knows the process, is admitted to the relevant federal court, and is already working with other Suboxone plaintiffs.

An experienced MDL lawyer will:

• File your claim properly with the court.
• Gather and organize your medical records.
• Handle communication with defense counsel and the court.
• Push your case forward through settlement negotiations or trial.

Don’t just hire the first lawyer with a billboard. Ask if they’ve filed in the Suboxone MDL. Ask how many similar cases they’re handling. Ask if they’ve gone to trial in federal court before. If the answer is silence, move on.

Timeline and What Happens Next

Like most mass torts, they started small—one plaintiff here, another there—until the filings started stacking up. That’s when the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation stepped in. In February 2024, they formed an MDL in the Northern District of Ohio to streamline the cases and avoid duplicate discovery and inconsistent rulings. Now everything moves through that federal court.

Where the Litigation Stands Right Now

The MDL is still in the early procedural stages. The court has appointed lead counsel, set ground rules, and started the discovery process. Both sides are now collecting records—medical, dental, corporate—anything that helps shape the legal battlefield.

Key developments at this point include:

• Appointment of plaintiffs’ steering committee to handle filings, strategy, and communication.
• Initial discovery focused on internal documents from Indivior about what they knew and when.
• Selection of potential bellwether cases—these are sample lawsuits that go to trial first to test arguments and shape settlement negotiations.

There’s no jury yet, no verdicts, and no massive payout checks. But the legal machine is fully in motion.

What’s Likely to Happen Next

Bellwether trials are coming. These trials serve as test runs. If a jury hands out a large verdict, that tells the defense they’re at risk—and encourages a global settlement. If the defense wins, the plaintiffs have to recalibrate.

In a typical MDL timeline, you’ll see:

• First bellwether trials start about 18–24 months after the MDL begins. That puts the earliest trials in mid to late 2025.
• Settlement talks usually accelerate after the first or second trial.
• Individual cases begin settling based on damage, documentation, and how close they match the bellwether fact patterns.

No one knows the exact settlement date or amount. But the path is well-worn. From pelvic mesh to Roundup to opioids, this is how mass torts move through the system. It’s slow. It’s procedural. But it works.

What Slows It Down—or Speeds It Up

A few things will affect how fast this gets resolved:

• Volume of claims: More plaintiffs mean more pressure to settle.
• Internal emails or memos from Indivior: If discovery turns up bad documents, expect movement.
• Bellwether results: Huge jury awards light a fire under the defense.
• Public pressure: Media coverage and political noise sometimes push companies toward faster deals.

Find Out How Much Compensation You Deserve

You trusted Suboxone to get your life back. You didn’t sign up for shattered molars and five-figure dental bills. The damage is done—but the clock’s still ticking on your chance to get paid for it.

At LitigationConnect, our network of lawyers works directly with people hit hardest. Call (833) 552-7274 today or contact us online and get matched with an attorney who knows how to build your case and push it forward.