by Karl Voigt
If you’ve ever dealt with serious pain after a work injury, you know how frustrating – and sometimes dangerous – the treatment options can be. As a workers’ compensation attorney, I’ve seen too many clients struggle with pain that affects their sleep, their ability to work, and their basic quality of life. And for many, the only medications offered come with a heavy cost: opioids that can dull the pain but create new problems like addiction, sedation, and stigma.
That’s why a recent article in The New Yorker caught my attention. It covers a breakthrough in pain relief that could be a game-changer for injured workers. Scientists have developed a new class of non-opioid painkillers – like suzetigine, recently FDA-approved under the brand name Journex – that block the transmission of pain at the nerve level instead of altering how the brain perceives it. In other words, it targets pain at the source, not just how you feel it.
This matters because it opens the door to pain relief without the dangers that come with opioids. Suzetagine is designed to treat acute pain from injuries or surgery without the risk of addiction. While it’s still early days, and we don’t yet know how well it’ll work for chronic pain or nerve damage, it’s a hopeful sign.
For my clients and others navigating workers’ compensation claims, this could mean safer, more effective treatment options—and less of a tradeoff between getting relief and staying safe.
You can read the full article here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/02/the-radical-development-of-an-entirely-new-painkiller
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