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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 12/14/17
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TEXAS' MOST POPULOUS COUNTY SUES OPIOID MANUFACTURERS
Dec 14, 2017 | Associated Press
By Staff
The state's most populous county has become the nation's latest governmental entity to sue prescription drug companies amid a national opioid-drug epidemic. -
County Attorney Vince Ryan Sues Big Pharma
Dec 14, 2017 | Houston Press (TX)
By Margaret Downing
Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan took on Big Pharma Wednesday, filing suit against drug companies, distributors, doctors and a pharmacist accusing them of engaging "in a campaign of lies, half-truths and deceptions to create a market that encourage the over-prescribing and long-term use of opioids." -
Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Dec 14, 2017 | Newburgh Gazette (IL)
By Dwayne Harmon
Twenty one pharmaceutical companies, four doctors, and a pharmacist are named in a civil lawsuit. -
Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Dec 13, 2017 | Texas Lawyer (TX)
By John Council
Harris County has become the latest government body to sue major drug manufacturers for their hand in the opioid epidemic, alleging the companies conspired to push highly addictive medication that harmed its residents. -
JPs take action on opioid lawsuit
Dec 14, 2017 | Hos Springs Sentinel Record (AR)
By David Showers
States sued tobacco companies in the 1990s to recover tobacco-related Medicaid expenses, but attorneys said Wednesday that the attendant costs of what’s been called the opioid epidemic give local governments a stronger claim in similar litigation against the pharmaceutical industry. -
Arkansas municipalities file federal suit against opioid manufacturers
Dec 13, 2017 | KATV (AR)
By Scott Carroll
A coalition of Arkansas municipalities has filed a federal lawsuit against some of the world's biggest opioid manufacturers and distributors, accusing the companies of creating a public health crisis in Arkansas and across the country by deceptively marketing painkillers and persuading doctors to over-prescribe the drugs. -
Lake County officials file lawsuit against opioid companies, allege greed led to deceptive marketing
Dec 13, 2017 | Cleveland.com
By Justin Madden
Officials in Lake County have filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors amid an opioid epidemic that has caused thousands of deaths across the state. -
Lake County joins Hammond and others in suing opioid makers
Dec 14, 2017 | NWI Times (OH)
By Bill Dolan
The Lake County Board of Commissioners is suing 10 opioid manufacturers and distributors. -
City, county to file suit over opioid epidemic
Dec 13, 2017 | Herald Times Online (IN)
By Laura Lan
Bloomington and Monroe County officials have joined government entities across the nation by filing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors alleging that for years, they pushed opioids as effective and non-addictive pain medicine despite knowing the drugs were in fact highly addictive and dangerous. -
Bloomington, Monroe County to Sue Opioid Makers, Distributors
Dec 13, 2017 | Inside Indiana Business (IN)
By Dan McGowan
Monroe County and the city of Bloomington are the most recent Indiana municipalities taking on opioid manufacturers in court. Mayor John Hamilton says the lawsuit is "one of many avenues" the city and county are pursuing to address social and "significant financial burdens" caused by the opioid epidemic. -
Monroe County And City Of Bloomington Join To File Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers And Distributors
Dec 14, 2017 | WBIW (IN)
By Staff
In a joint effort, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton have retained the Indianapolis law firm Cohen & Malad, LLP to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their part in the opioid crisis that is ravaging the Monroe County. -
La Crosse County still looking into joining statewide opioid lawsuits
Dec 13, 2017 | WKBT (WI)
By Troy Neumann
La Crosse County officials have not yet decided whether they will join a growing number of Wisconsin counties suing opioid manufacturers. -
La Crosse County weighing options for legal action against opioid makers
Dec 13, 2017 | LaCrosse Tribune (WI)
By Randy Erickson
Nearly 50 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have filed suit against 14 pharmaceutical companies and individuals deemed responsible for the opioid drug epidemic that has put a monumental strain on many aspects of public service provided by counties. -
County board approves declaration on opioids
Dec 14, 2017 | Journal Gazatte & Times Courier (IL)
By Dave Fopay
The Coles County Board on Tuesday approved a declaration that will allow the county to sue drug companies for the costs of opioid overdoses. -
County sues opioid makers
Dec 14, 2017 | The Chronicle - Telegram (OH)
By Scott Mahoney
A 258-page lawsuit filed on behalf of Lorain County alleges that violations of law and a pattern of racketeering activity by opioid manufacturers have directly injured the county and its residents because of the costs the county has paid associated with the opioid crisis. -
OPIOID CRISIS: County may sue drug manufacturers
Dec 14, 2017 | The News Courier (AL)
By Adam Smith
The opioid crisis was labeled a public health emergency by President Donald Trump in late October, and the effects of the crisis are evident in Limestone County on a daily basis. -
Rockingham County sues major opioid manufacturers, distributors
Dec 13, 2017 | Rockingham Now
By Joe Dexter
Rockingham County has served notice to several major opioid distributors and manufacturers by filing a federal civil suit seeking financial relief for the unlawful distribution of opioids and the failure to report and prevent suspicious orders. -
Law firm says Big Pharma misled consumers
Dec 13, 2017 | The Washington Times (DC)
By Julia Airey
A preliminary investigation of the pharmaceutical industry has uncovered misleading statements by drugmakers about the risks and efficacy of their products, according to a law firm hired by Montgomery County to sue Big Pharma for its role in the county’s opioid epidemic. -
KXAN News at 7A
Dec 14, 2017 | KVNA (CW)
By Austin, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422883?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3 -
News 8 This Morning
Dec 14, 2017 | WKBTDT (MyNetwork TV)
By La Crosse, WI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422890?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3 -
Good Morning Show
Dec 14, 2017 | WFMY (CBS)
By Greensboro, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422915?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3 -
Fox 26 News at 5AM
Dec 14, 2017 | KRIV (FOX)
By Houston, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422919?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3 -
24 Hour News 8 at 6:30PM
Dec 13, 2017 | WISH (CW)
By Indianapolis, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422930?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3 -
Aetna waives co-pay for opioid overdose drug
Dec 12, 2017 | CNN Money
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner
Aetna says it will try to fight the opioid crisis by waiving anti-overdose drug co-pays and limiting first-time opioid prescriptions.
Southwest (TX, AR)
Midwest (OH, IN, IL)
Southeast
Northeast
Broadcast Media Coverage
Commentary and FYIs
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TEXAS' MOST POPULOUS COUNTY SUES OPIOID MANUFACTURERS
Dec 14, 2017 | Associated Press
By Staff
The state's most populous county has become the nation's latest governmental entity to sue prescription drug companies amid a national opioid-drug epidemic.
Harris County, where Houston is located, filed its lawsuit in state district court in Houston on Wednesday, seeking unspecified damages. It accuses 18 drug manufacturers and distributors, as well as four doctors and a pharmacist, of creating a market that encouraged the over-prescribing of opioids and of knowing that their use could lead to addiction and other health problems.
According to the lawsuit, of the more than 2,500 opioid-related deaths in Texas in 2015, 318 took place in Harris County.
More than two dozen states, cities and counties around the country have sued pharmaceutical companies. The companies have generally denied wrongdoing.
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County Attorney Vince Ryan Sues Big Pharma
Dec 14, 2017 | Houston Press (TX)
By Margaret Downing
Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan took on Big Pharma Wednesday, filing suit against drug companies, distributors, doctors and a pharmacist accusing them of engaging "in a campaign of lies, half-truths and deceptions to create a market that encourage the over-prescribing and long-term use of opioids."
All the defendants do business in Texas and Harris County, the suit says. And it accuses them of putting profits over the public good, while knowing that opioids can cause addiction. The individuals named had all previously been identified by federal investigators.
Ryan's action mirrors that of other public officials across the country who have filed suits against the companies making these drugs as well as the doctors dispensing them. Although medical professionals say the drugs are needed to reduce pain and if handled properly are important tools, Ryan and others charge that the over prescription of these drugs has created a national health crisis.
"Nationally, the number of deaths due to opioid overdose have quadrupled since 1999 with 91 Americans now dying every day from opioid overdose,"" a press release that went out today said. "In 2015, 2588 people died in Texas from opioid overdose with Harris County accounting for 318 deaths."
Ryan, who is seeking both actual and punitive damages, saying that because of the defendants' actions there was work loss among the addicted, extra time and expense incurred by country criminal justice agencis handling cases arising from opioid use, law enforcement time and expenses, hospital and social service agencies expenses — all of which would not have occurred without what Ryan calls "the public nuisiance" created by the dispensation of these drugs.
Many of the patients prescribed these drugs legally became dependent on them and resorted to illegal drugs, especially heroin, Ryan said. "Research shows that approximately 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids," the lawsuit states.
Named in the suit were individual defendants:
Dr. Gazelle Craig who already had been indicted in July by a federal grand jury for allegedly handing out a massive number of opioid prescriptions at the Gulfton clinic where she worked. Patients paid as much as $300 for the prescriptions according to investigators who also determined these were not all medically necessary. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and three counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing the drugs.
Dr. Arun Sharma, who already is in the federal penitentiary in Beaumont serving a 15-year sentence for committing health care fraud. According to the FBI, "Dr. A Sharma was known as an easy touch for prescribing the “pain cocktail” of hydrocodone, Xanax and Soma."
Dr. Karin Sharma, who lives Houston, his wife, who was also convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in the operation. The couple had to forfeit $43 million and lost their house in Kemah. She received an eight-year sentence.
Dr. Richard Arthur Evans who is serving time at the FCI Oakdale II Federal Correctional Facility in Louisiana. He was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted on 19 counts involving illegal distribution of narcotics, mail fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. He forfeited assets and surrendered his medical license.
David Devido, Evans' co-conspirator, the pharmacist who would dispense the drugs. He pleaded guilty in their partnership.
Companies Named in the Lawsuit:
Purdue Pharma L.P. a New York corporation whose principal place of business is based in Stamford, Connecticut. It manufactures, sells and distributes opioids including OcyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid/Dilaudid HP, Butrans, Hysingla ER and Targiniq ER, with OcyContin the best seller whose annual sales are between $2.47 billion and $2.99 billion.
Cephalon Inc.which does business in Pennsylvannia and is owned by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, an Israeli company. Cephalon's specialities are Actiq and Fentor.
Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, based in New Jersey. Its opioids include Duragesic, Nucynta and Nucynta ER.
Endo Health solutions, based in Pennsylvania, whose opioids inclue Opana and Opana ER. "However, on June 8, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requested that Endo remove Opana ER from the market based on FDA's concern that the benefits of the drug may no longer outweigh its risks."
Abbott Laboratories, an illinois corporation, whose opioids include Vicoprofen and Dilaudid.
Allergan PLC, A company from Dublin, Ireland, that was acquired by Actavis PLC whose opioids inclue generic Oxycontin, Dilaudid, Fiorinal with codeine, and Kadian.
Insys Therapeutics, Inc. based in Arizona which offers Subsys, with is a sublingual spray.
McKesson Corporation based in California: oxycodone and hydrocodene.
Cardinal Health Inc. based in Dublin Ohio: oxycodone and hydrocodene.
Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation based in Pennsylvania: oxycodone and hydrocodene.
Mallinckrodt PLC, an Irish company with U,S. headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri: oxycodone and hydrocodene.
Advanced Pharma Inc. based in Houston, distributes and/or sells or makes available for sale: Butrans, Duragesic, Embeda and Exalgo.
NexGenPharma, Inc. based in Rosenberg, "identified by the Food and Drug Administration as the sponsor of one or more opioid-containing medications": butalbital, acetaminophen, caffeine and codeine phosphate.
Neos Therapeutics Brands LLC of Grand Prairie sponsors opioid-containing medications: hydrocodone olistirex and chlorpheniramne polistirex.
Mission Pharmacal Company of Boerne, Texas sponsors opioid-containing medications: hcofenix.
Fresenius USA Manufacturing Inc. based in Kentucky sponsors opioid-containing medications: Dilaudid and Dilaudid-HP.
ICU Medical Sales Inc. based in California sponsors opioid-containing medications: Meperidine hydrochloride and morphine sulfate.
Mylan Inc based in Pennsylvania sponsors opioid-containing medications:Soma and morphine extended release tablets.
A copy of the flining can be found here: http://www.houstonpress.com/news/gambling-picks-try-to-bounce-back-in-nfl-week-15-10028838
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Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Dec 14, 2017 | Newburgh Gazette (IL)
By Dwayne Harmon
Twenty one pharmaceutical companies, four doctors, and a pharmacist are named in a civil lawsuit.
"The bottom line is we in Harris County have suffered already too much because of opioids and the marketing and distribution of opioids by the manufacturers and distributors". Four local doctors and a pharmacist were named as co-defendants because they participated in the conspiracy and profited from it.
Harris County is taking the fight against opioids from the streets the courtroom.
"The defendants knew that the use of opioids had the potential to cause addiction and other health maladies", according to the petition.
Harris County says it's been forced to use all of its limited resources to address & deal with the opioid epidemic, across the board, from the criminal justice system side to the medical side. He is seeking actual and punitive damages, penalties and fines, and attorneys' fees and the costs of litigation.
"We believe the filing of this lawsuit is critical to ensure that York County's story is heard and the devastation it has endured - and will continue to endure - because of this opioid crisis is addressed by those responsible", said Mr. Smith at a December 8 press conference, according to the York Dispatch.
"When you have one doctor who's prescribing millions of prescriptions in a year, then that goes back up the chain". He said lies, half-truths and deception were used to foster the use of the drugs.
Research shows that approximately 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.
Un Harris County, in 2015, 318 deaths were directly attributed to opioid overdoses. "The number of opioid prescriptions has risen from 112 million in 1992 to almost 249 million in 2015".
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Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Dec 13, 2017 | Texas Lawyer (TX)
By John Council
Harris County has become the latest government body to sue major drug manufacturers for their hand in the opioid epidemic, alleging the companies conspired to push highly addictive medication that harmed its residents.
The lawsuit, which was filed today in Harris County’s 133rd State district court, alleges drug companies including Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Abbott Laboratories along with five “pill mill” doctors all conspired to get Houstonians hooked on prescription drugs with devastating consequences.
“The defendants knew that the use of opioids had the potential to cause addiction and other health maladies,” according to the petition. “Driven by profit, defendants engaged in a campaign of lies, half-truths, and deceptions to create a market that encouraged the over-prescribing and long-term use of opioids even though there was no scientific basis to support such use. The campaign worked, and resulted in an exponential increase in opioid abuse, addiction, and death.”
Houston attorney Vince Ryan filed the suit against the defendants along with the help of prominent Houston plaintiff attorneys Mike Gallagher and Tommy Fibich. Ryan has a history of using contingent fee contracts to take on big industry defendants — a move that was blessed most recently in 2013 by Houston’s First Court of Appeals when used by private lawyers to sue International Paper to force them to clean up environmental waste along the San Jacinto River. Several states around the country have also filed lawsuits against drug manufacturers to help offset $78.5 billion economic burden of prescription drug misuse and the State of Texas has joined a working group to investigate the opioid pharmaceutical industry’s conduct. Earlier this year, Upshur County partnered with plaintiff lawyers in Dallas’ Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett to file public nuisance, fraud and racketeering allegations against drugmakers in a lawsuit currently pending before U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall.
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JPs take action on opioid lawsuit
Dec 14, 2017 | Hos Springs Sentinel Record (AR)
By David Showers
States sued tobacco companies in the 1990s to recover tobacco-related Medicaid expenses, but attorneys said Wednesday that the attendant costs of what’s been called the opioid epidemic give local governments a stronger claim in similar litigation against the pharmaceutical industry.
Garland County may be one of those claimants, with the Garland County Quorum Court adopting a resolution Monday night that effectively authorizes County Judge Rick Davis to include the county in Association of Arkansas Counties and Arkansas Municipal League-sponsored litigation against manufacturers and distributors of opioid-based prescription drugs.
County Attorney John Howard OVERSET FOLLOWS:told the quorum court that the potential opioid lawsuit is akin to the action states brought en masse against the tobacco industry, resulting in the multibillion dollar settlement from which states are still benefiting.
“Maybe not that high of stakes, but (opioids) have had a big impact on cities and counties,” Howard said, comparing a multidistrict lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry to the tobacco claim. “It’s cities and counties’ opportunity to try and get some of that money back that they’ve spent on people who’ve been affected.”
That cost, according to the resolution, includes the strain placed on law enforcement and other services. Colin Jorgensen, litigation counsel for the Association of Arkansas Counties, said improper marketing and distribution of prescription drugs are culpable in what’s been declared a public health crisis.
The resolution said only Alabama ranks ahead of Arkansas in the rate of opioid prescriptions. Arkansas had 114.6 prescriptions per 100 residents last year, compared to a national ratio of 66.5 per 100 residents.
“Everyone can see there’s a big problem, and that these companies have contributed to it in a big way,” he said. “They’ve been a huge contributor to the rise in overdoses we’re seeing.”
Mark Hayes, the Municipal League’s director for legal services, said local governments proximity to the problem makes them a more appropriate plaintiff than the state.
“They’re the ones who’ve felt this epidemic the most,” he said. “It makes sense that they join together. All the societal costs are being borne by cities and counties. They’re the ones having the biggest public safety costs.”
Hayes said the team of lawyers is considering filing federal and state claims but is still coordinating with potential plaintiffs on a complaint that encompasses all of their concerns. Jorgensen said deciding the factor on which to base damage claims is one of the biggest challenges.
“How do you quantify damages?” he said. “Is it overdose deaths, jail overcrowding, health care costs, prescription rates, the prevalence of heroin in communities? These are very complex cases, and the industry has billions of dollars and lots of attorneys.”
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Arkansas municipalities file federal suit against opioid manufacturers
Dec 13, 2017 | KATV (AR)
By Scott Carroll
A coalition of Arkansas municipalities has filed a federal lawsuit against some of the world's biggest opioid manufacturers and distributors, accusing the companies of creating a public health crisis in Arkansas and across the country by deceptively marketing painkillers and persuading doctors to over-prescribe the drugs.
The Arkansas Municipal League filed the suit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The suit accuses the companies of "borrowing a page from Big Tobacco's playbook" by downplaying the risks of using opioids -- addiction, in particular -- and overstating the benefits of using the drugs.
The 13 listed defendants are some the biggest companies in a global multi-billion dollar industry. They include Johnson & Johnson; Purdue Pharma; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Belgium; Cardinal Health; McKesson Corporation, and Activis Pharma, which is based in Ireland.
The 72-page lawsuit says the defendants "formed an opioid marketing enterprise in violation of Arkansas law for the purpose of illegally promoting the widespread use of opioids for chronic pain."
It continues: "Arkansas is now awash in opioids and engulfed in a public health crisis the likes of which have never been seen before."
"This epidemic, fueled by opioids lawfully prescribed by doctors, has resulted in a flood of prescription opioids available for illicit use or sale (the supply), and a population of patients physically and psychologically dependent on them (the demand)," the suit says. "And when those patients can no longer afford or legitimately obtain opioids, they often turn to the street to buy prescription opioids or even heroin."
Arkansas has the second-highest opioid prescription rate in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency reported the rate to be 114.6 opioid prescriptions per 100 people. The national average is 66.5 prescriptions per 100 people.
There were about 108 opioid-related deaths in Arkansas last year, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
A rise in opioid overdoses has led law enforcement agencies across the state, from Benton police to Arkansas State Police, to begin carrying naloxone, a anti-overdose drug better known by its brand name, Narcan.
The state has also taken action. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced in September that pharmacists would no longer be required to write a prescription to dispense naloxone.
The Arkansas Municipal League lawsuit is the latest in a wave of litigation that cities and counties have filed against drug-makers as opioid overdoses and deaths have surged across the country.
Chicago, Seattle and Indianapolis are among the cities that have sued on grounds similar to the municipal league's lawsuit, according to reports. Hospitals have also sued the drug-makers.
Earlier this year, a man filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Fayetteville against several of the drug-makers named in the municipal league lawsuit.
More than 400 cities and towns including North Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Jacksonville are part of the Arkansas Municipal League. The group's lawsuit seeks punitive damages, and for drug-makers' "scheme of false representations and concealments of material fact regarding the use of opioids" to be declared illegal.
Little Rock attorney Brent Moss, along with North Little Rock attorneys John Wilkerson and Mark Hayes, filed suit on the group's behalf. They had not returned a call seeking comment late Wednesday afternoon.
Spokesmen for the drug companies named as defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.
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Lake County officials file lawsuit against opioid companies, allege greed led to deceptive marketing
Dec 13, 2017 | Cleveland.com
By Justin Madden
Officials in Lake County have filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors amid an opioid epidemic that has caused thousands of deaths across the state.
The 265-page lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Lake County Common Pleas Court, claims drug companies engaged in deceptive marketing of painkillers, despite knowing the dangers the drugs could cause.
The suit alleges drug companies were acting out of greed when they allowed doctors to over-prescribe powerful opioids. Such tactics led to drug overdoses and children being born dependent on painkillers, and caused an increase in the number of resources Lake County needed to direct toward helping orphaned children whose parents were killed by overdoses or arrested for drug-related offenses, the lawsuit claims.
"Defendants' deceptive and and unfair marketing campaign deprived county residents and their doctors of the ability to make informal medical decisions, and, instead caused important, sometimes, life-or-death decisions to made based not on science, but on hype," Lake County officials said in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names some of the largest and most powerful companies in the pharmaceutical industry as defendants. Purdue Pharma LP, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Corporation and Cardinal Health are named in the suit.
The lawsuit asks a court to make the companies pay Lake County for costs related to the epidemic, "all legal equitable relief" and attorney fees.
Lake County's suit is one of several filed against drug companies across the state. Cuyahoga County officials previously filed a lawsuit that accuses drug companies of intentionally misleading the public about the dangers of opioids to sell more painkillers, and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed over the summer against some of the same manufacturers.
Lake County's lawsuit says that from 2006 to 2016, drug companies distributed 900,000 grams of opioids throughout the county. From 2009 to 2011, companies nearly distributed enough prescription painkillers for every man, woman and child in Lake County, according to the lawsuit.
Officials nationwide have said prescription drug abuse is inextricably linked to heroin and fentanyl abuse, and the opioid epidemic that claimed thousands of lives last year in Ohio. In 2016, more than 4,050 people died of unintentional drug overdoses across the state, with many of those being caused by opioids.
Opioid overdose deaths nearly tripled last year in Lake County, statistics show. The coroner's office attributed 72 deaths last year to heroin, fentanyl or a combination of the two drugs. That's up from the 28 people killed by those drugs in 2015 and the 27 who died in 2014, the coroner's office said.
Statistics show there were 77 drug overdose deaths in Lake County through Tuesday, but that total includes deaths caused by opioids and other drugs such as cocaine, the coroner's office said.
A Cleveland federal judge will preside over 64 lawsuits filed against drug companies by cities and counties across the country. Of the 64 cases, 16 originated from Ohio and include lawsuits filed by the cities of Cincinnati and Dayton. It also includes lawsuits filed by two Northeast Ohio cities, Parma and Lorain.
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Lake County joins Hammond and others in suing opioid makers
Dec 14, 2017 | NWI Times (OH)
By Bill Dolan
The Lake County Board of Commissioners is suing 10 opioid manufacturers and distributors.
County officials have joined the cities of Hammond and Indianapolis, which also have filed litigation alleging the pain-killing drugs are creating an unnecessary burden on local government and taxpayers to treat those who have become addicted.
The suit alleges opioid overdoses claimed the lives of 114 Lake residents last year and that the number has been increasing since 2012.
The suit alleges Purdue Pharma, Cephalon Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt PLC, Allergan PLC and Watson Pharmaceuticals didn't properly warn the public of the drug's dangers.
Lake County Commissioner President Mike Repay, D-Hammond, said Wednesday the county hopes to recover millions of tax dollars spent to treat drug addicts in the county jail.
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City, county to file suit over opioid epidemic
Dec 13, 2017 | Herald Times Online (IN)
By Laura Lan
Bloomington and Monroe County officials have joined government entities across the nation by filing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors alleging that for years, they pushed opioids as effective and non-addictive pain medicine despite knowing the drugs were in fact highly addictive and dangerous.
The practice fueled the current heroin-based opioid crisis that kills people every day; in Monroe County, more than 50 people have died from opioid overdoses since 2015. During a news conference at the courthouse Wednesday morning, Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas said IU Health Bloomington Hospital saw a 433 percent increase in opioid overdoses from 2012 to 2014. She said a review of pharmacy records shows 106 opioid prescriptions for every 100 Monroe County residents.
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Bloomington, Monroe County to Sue Opioid Makers, Distributors
Dec 13, 2017 | Inside Indiana Business (IN)
By Dan McGowan
Monroe County and the city of Bloomington are the most recent Indiana municipalities taking on opioid manufacturers in court. Mayor John Hamilton says the lawsuit is "one of many avenues" the city and county are pursuing to address social and "significant financial burdens" caused by the opioid epidemic.
Commissioner Amanda Barge says the suit aims to take opioid distributors and manufacturers "to task on the immeasurable harm their practices have caused our residents." She also says "there is no greater public health crisis in our country than the opioid epidemic, and here in Monroe County the costs are exponentially spiritual, physical, emotional and financial."
The defendants include manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Cephalon Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt PLC, Allergan PLC and Watson Pharmaceuticals and distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. The county and city have retained Indianapolis law firm Cohen & Malad LLP, the same firm handling the litigation by the city of Indianapolis. Indy was the first municipality in the state to take such action. Since, the city of New Albany has detailed its own lawsuit.
The lawsuit will allege that the manufacturers used deceptive marketing tactics and the distributors failed to report and stop suspicious orders flooding the city and county.
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Dec 14, 2017 | WBIW (IN)
By Staff
In a joint effort, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton have retained the Indianapolis law firm Cohen & Malad, LLP to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their part in the opioid crisis that is ravaging the Monroe County.
The effects of opioids on the County and City are devastating and quantifiable. Pharmacy data in the County reveals as many as 106 opioid prescriptions per 100 residents in the last few years.
IU Health Bloomington Hospital reports that opioid overdoses increased by 433 percent from 2012 -2014. The lawsuit will seek damages in the form of funds to address the significant financial burdens that the opioid crisis has placed on the City and County.
This lawsuit supports both Mayor Hamilton's and Monroe County Government's efforts to address a major public health crisis.
"The residents of Bloomington and Monroe County will be dealing with the effects of opioid addiction for the foreseeable future. We feel a strong sense of responsibility to do what we can to mitigate the negative impact on our residents, whenever and however possible. This lawsuit is one of many avenues we are pursuing," commented Mayor Hamilton.
According to Commissioner Amanda Barge, "There is no greater public health crisis in our country than the opioid epidemic, and here in Monroe County the costs are exponentially spiritual, physical, emotional and financial. The Monroe County Commissioners are proud to stand with the City of Bloomington to take opioid distributors and manufacturers to task on the immeasurable harm their practices have caused our residents."
Manufacturer defendants will include Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt PLC, Allergan PLC, and Watson Pharmaceuticals. The lawsuit will allege that these manufacturers deceptively marketed their opioid products with regard to their safety and the risks of use.
Distributor defendants will include AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and McKesson Corporation. The lawsuit will allege that the distributors failed in their duty to report and stop suspicious orders of opioids flooding the city and county.
"Taxpayers shouldn't be left to shoulder the burden of solving a problem fueled by the opioid manufacturers and distributors. Bloomington and Monroe County are taking an important step forward to hold these drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for their actions," said Lynn Toops of Cohen & Malad, LLP.
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La Crosse County still looking into joining statewide opioid lawsuits
Dec 13, 2017 | WKBT (WI)
By Troy Neumann
La Crosse County officials have not yet decided whether they will join a growing number of Wisconsin counties suing opioid manufacturers.
County leaders discussed the lawsuit during this morning's Executive Committee meeting, saying there is too much they do not know about the lawsuit. They were also concerned about what their next steps would be.
The Executive Committee wants to determine how many resources would need to be committed to the lawsuit before making a final decision.
"You know, the people power needed to go through the discovery process to find all of the cases, to do the redacting of information that is sensitive. So it's a very complex idea to consider,” said La Crosse County Board of Supervisors Chair Tara Johnson.
48 out of Wisconsin's 72 counties have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers.
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La Crosse County weighing options for legal action against opioid makers
Dec 13, 2017 | LaCrosse Tribune (WI)
By Randy Erickson
Nearly 50 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have filed suit against 14 pharmaceutical companies and individuals deemed responsible for the opioid drug epidemic that has put a monumental strain on many aspects of public service provided by counties.
La Crosse County, however, is not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet.
Representatives of the Wisconsin Counties Association made a strong pitch at a convention in September for counties to take legal action, arguing it was a “moral imperative.” A coalition of three law firms has offered to represent counties in litigation against “big pharma” with no cost up front and no cost if the lawsuit isn’t successful.
While 48 counties already have filed lawsuits in federal court, La Crosse County has been cautious about jumping in, investigating issues and options, and that investigation will continue for another month or two.
At Wednesday morning’s meeting of the La Crosse County Board’s Executive Committee, the panel directed the county’s legal department to continue looking into a number of still unanswered questions.
“We are thoughtful and deliberative and thorough in our investigation and the work that we do month in and month out,” said Board Chair Tara Johnson, who objected to criticism the county is “dithering on the sidelines” while other counties take action. “The fact that we are talking about this in our December cycle is because this is how we do things.”
All the counties surrounding La Crosse County have either filed lawsuits or approved filings in the past two months, with the Monroe County Board voting 13-2 last week to sue. Crawford County is pursuing litigation, but not as part of the WCA-endorsed effort.
County Administrator Steve O’Malley noted, however, that all but one of the state’s most populous counties still are exploring their options.
The action urged by the Wisconsin Counties Association involves the three legal firms filing individually on behalf of counties — these aren’t class-action suits. Megan DeVore, county corporation counsel, said about 90 percent of the proposed 75-page civil complaint will be the same for all the counties filing suit.
The lawsuits filed so far target Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions Inc. and subsidiaries of the companies as well as three doctors in California and Utah. The suits seek compensatory and punitive damages and legal costs, alleging that the plaintiffs’ “nefarious and deceptive” marketing campaigns precipitated the nation’s opioid overdose epidemic.
The lawsuit asserts that county health and law enforcement services “have been strained to the breaking point” because of the overdose crisis, which has claimed thousands of lives. In Wisconsin alone last year there were 827 drug overdose deaths, according to state Attorney General Brad Schimel, who has made combating the opioid crisis one of his offices central missions.
More than two dozen states, cities and counties have filed similar lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, accusing them of making false claims about the safety of their drugs to make a profit. “Defendants’ goal was simple: to dramatically increase sales by convincing doctors that it was safe and efficacious to prescribe opioids to treat not only the kind of severe and short-term pain associated with surgery or cancer, but also for a seemingly unlimited array of less severe, longer-term pain, such as back pain and arthritis to name but two examples,” the lawsuit alleges.
Drug companies knew their “products were addictive, subject to abuse, and not safe or efficacious for long term use,” the lawsuit says, claims that the plaintiffs have denied.
“We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense,” Purdue Pharma said in a statement.
Endo Health Solutions said its “top priorities include patient safety and ensuring that patients with chronic pain have access to safe and effective therapeutic options” while preventing opioid abuse.
Johnson & Johnson said allegations in similar lawsuits are “legally and factually unfounded.”
The WCA endorsed legal action might seem on the surface like an easy win-win for counties, with no upfront legal costs and no obligation to pay anything if the litigation fails. But the county would likely face a significant cost and burden on staff time during the “discovery” process, the pretrial investigatory period when both sides can pursue any testimony and documents that might be germane to the case.
O’Malley noted that a few years ago the county was involved as the lead county in a class-action lawsuit against a guardrail manufacturer. That case was a much simpler matter than the opioid case would be, but even so it required a lot of staff time to comply with the defendant’s discovery demands, including taking up two full days of Highway Commissioner Ron Chamberlain’s time.
In the opioid case, DeVore said, “the issue that requires the most thought is the compensatory damage. … You have to prove that there was a cost to the county and what that cost was.”
Unraveling the cost to the county of the opioid crisis would be no easy feat. There’s no box to check on out-of-home child placements, for example, to indicate that they were related to parental abuse of prescription painkillers or use of heroin that was precipitated by a previous addition to doctor-prescribed opioids.
DeVore noted the county also would have to spend a lot of time blacking out names and private information in documents because there is no implied waiver of confidentiality for county records as there would be in a case of an individual suing the county. “We can’t just make a copy of all the records and hand them over,” she said. “They’re going to require a significant amount of redaction.”
Counties are jumping in with opioid-related lawsuits now because of lessons learned when states took on tobacco companies. Counties expected to get a commensurate share of the tobacco litigation settlement, but DeVore said that never happened.
Schimel noted in a guest column in Wednesday’s La Crosse Tribune that Wisconsin is part of a multi-state investigation into the major opioid manufacturers. More than 40 other states are involved in the probe, and Schimel noted that similar multi-state investigations have led to “substantial recoveries” from defendants.
“Needless to say, if the coalition of states determines a lawsuit is necessary, I will pursue this strategy,” he wrote. “However, filing a lawsuit now will likely lead to delay tactics and endless litigation that could last many years.”
Ideally, the county would file a lawsuit and be offered a pretrial settlement before having to go through the laborious discovery process. Whether the county could better achieve that objective through the WCA-endorsed legal action or with another law firm is one of a number of questions the county’s legal department will be researching over the next month or two.
Executive committee members’ comments indicated they are on the same page as Johnson in terms of taking a cautious and thoughtful approach.
“I don’t think taking our time and doing it deliberately is detrimental,” committee member Dave Holtze said. “I’m not sure we have to address it today because it’s not going to be solved tomorrow.”
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County board approves declaration on opioids
Dec 14, 2017 | Journal Gazatte & Times Courier (IL)
By Dave Fopay
The Coles County Board on Tuesday approved a declaration that will allow the county to sue drug companies for the costs of opioid overdoses.
The board followed State's Attorney Brian Bower's recommendation to take the position.
Bower has said joining the suit in which other counties are taking part would recover the "incredible costs" related to painkiller misuse, such as police and paramedic response and medical treatment.
The actual cost to the county has yet to be determined, according to Bower.
The declaration says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that last year there were nearly as many prescriptions for opioids in the county as there are people, and more in the two years before.
Information the CDC's website does show that level of painkiller prescriptions in Coles County for those years.
The declaration also addresses what medical experts say is a likelihood of painkiller misuse evolving into use of heroin and other illegal drugs.
Also, it states that the drug companies didn't meet their legal obligations to maintain control over the painkillers' distribution. Instead, it says, the companies' actions encouraged excessive prescriptions for the drugs, according to the declaration.
The association representing the drug companies mentioned in the declaration issued a statement in response, saying they recognize the problem and are willing to help address it but "aren’t willing to be scapegoats."
"We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines or dispense them to consumers," John Parker, vice president of Healthcare Distribution Alliance said in the statement.
"Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated," Parker also said.
The association represents AmerisourceBergen of Orlando, Fla.; Cardinal Health of Lakeland, Fla.; and McKesson Corp. of San Francisco.
Bower said the county board's approval of the declaration would authorize him to work with law firms in Edwardsville and other locations that are handling the lawsuits against the drug companies.
The board approved the declaration, without discussion, with an 11-0 vote. Vice Chairman Mark Degler didn't attend the meeting.
Also during Tuesday's meeting, board Chairman Stan Metzger made a proclamation declaring today "Dee Braden Day" in honor of the retiring executive director of the Coles County Council on Aging.
Braden attended the meeting and received a standing ovation from the board and those in the audience.
Today is also the day of a retirement open house for Braden, from 3-6 p.m., at the council's LifeSpan Center facility. She's retiring on Dec. 28 after 41 years as the agency's director.
The board also presented a certificate of appreciation to member Marc Weber, who's leaving his seat representing board District 3, Charleston, because he's moved out of the district.
Metzger said the board should be able to appoint someone to Weber's seat during its meeting next month.
In other votes Tuesday, the board:Transferred $77,000 from a county clerk's revenue stamp fund to the county general fund so it can be used to purchase new voting equipment.Approved an agreement with Pleasant Grove Township for the replacement of a large culvert at the Coles-Cumberland county line.Set county Engineer Rick Johnson's salary for the year at $110,400, a level that would trigger partial state reimbursement.Allocated $650,000 to the county townships for the annual agreement covering road maintenance.
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Dec 14, 2017 | The Chronicle - Telegram (OH)
By Scott Mahoney
A 258-page lawsuit filed on behalf of Lorain County alleges that violations of law and a pattern of racketeering activity by opioid manufacturers have directly injured the county and its residents because of the costs the county has paid associated with the opioid crisis. SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL PRINT COMMENTS
ELYRIA — A 258-page lawsuit filed on behalf of Lorain County alleges that violations of law and a pattern of racketeering activity by opioid manufacturers have directly injured the county and its residents because of the costs the county has paid associated with the opioid crisis.
The lawsuit was filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday by attorneys representing the county two weeks after the county commissioners announced they had hired Napoli Shkolnik, a law firm based in New York, as outside counsel on the matter.
The suit lists 25 defendants starting with Purdue Pharma, the maker of the painkiller Oxycontin, which is viewed as a major factor in the rise of opioid addictions across the country. Other defendants include Cephalon Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Watson Laboratories Inc., Endo Health Solutions, McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and Amerisourcebergen Corp.
The county joins a growing list of municipalities that want to see drug companies held accountable, even financially responsible, for the ripple effects of their drugs hitting the market, leading to addiction, overdoses and deaths.
“Obviously, the opioid crisis has put a tremendous strain on the prosecutor’s office, Sheriff’s Office and coroner’s office,” Commissioner Matt Lundy said. “We want accountability, and that’s why we’re taking this action.”
The suit contends that the opioid manufacturers’ and distributors’ marketing opioids for long-term use to treat chronic pain included information that was “false, misleading, contrary to credible scientific evidence and their own labels, and lacked balance and substantiation.”
The suit also says the marketing materials omitted material information about the risks of opioids and overstated their benefits.
It also claims the manufacturers exacerbated the problem with a collective effort to hide from the medical community “the fact that the FDA ‘is not aware of adequate and well-controlled studies of opioid use longer than 12 weeks.’”
“Through their direct promotional efforts … defendants accomplished exactly what they set out to do: change the institutional and public perception of the risk-benefit assessments and standard of care for treating patients with chronic pain,” the suit said. “As a result, Lorain (County) doctors began prescribing opioids long-term to treat chronic pain — something most would never have considered prior to (the) Defendants’ campaign.”
Elyria, Lorain and Dayton already are in the fight for financial compensation, and the lawsuit is similar to one filed earlier this year by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
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OPIOID CRISIS: County may sue drug manufacturers
Dec 14, 2017 | The News Courier (AL)
By Adam Smith
The opioid crisis was labeled a public health emergency by President Donald Trump in late October, and the effects of the crisis are evident in Limestone County on a daily basis.
Sheriff Mike Blakely's jail population continues to grows each year, and more men and women are being arrested for illegal possession of opioids. Once they're behind bars, Blakely staff must often contend with other issues like poor health brought on by opioid abuse or symptoms related to drug withdrawal.
Needless to say, the cost to investigate opioid-related crimes and then house perpetrators is growing exponentially. For fiscal year 2015, the county's total inmate health care costs were $495,275.50, and costs were $564,858.10 in 2016. In the 2017 fiscal year, health care costs were $566,981.83.
A fiscal year for Limestone County runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The county is currently in the 2018 fiscal year.
With more of the Limestone County Commission's resources being diverted to opioid-related costs, there are fewer tax dollars left to benefit the public good. To that end, commissioners could vote Monday to allow Limestone County to be represented in a class-action lawsuit designed to recoup money from opioid manufacturers or owners of so-called “pill mills” shut down by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
The concept isn't necessarily new; other states are doing the same. Earlier this month, the state of Montana announced it was suing Purdue Pharma LP, the maker of OxyContin. Officials in Travis County, Texas, announced Tuesday they were joining more than two dozen states, cities and counties across the country in suing opioid manufacturers.
Closer to home, hospitals in Alabama and Mississippi filed a class-action lawsuit Nov. 30 against more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies that marketed and sold opioids. Hospitals in Alabama include Mobile-based Infirmary Health Hospitals Inc. and Monroeville-based Monroe County Healthcare Authority.
According to a report in the Tuscaloosa News, the lawsuit says hospitals have faced expenses for treating opioid addicts because companies “pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction.”
Limestone in the fray
If commissioners agree to join a class-action suit against opioid manufacturers, it would cost the county nothing up front. At Wednesday's work session, John Plunk, an Athens attorney and member of the Alabama Ethics Commission, told the commission the attorney fees would amount to 30 percent of anything collected from defendants. For example, if the attorneys were able to recoup $1 million for Limestone, the attorneys would receive $300,000.
Plunk said billions of dollars have been spent by local governments and private enterprise to fight the opioid crisis. He explained a group of Alabama-based attorneys got together a few months ago to discuss if there was a way to recover money for county governments who have to deal with the issue.
A state-by-state health care analysis released in April 2015 estimated the total cost of opioid abuse to be roughly $25 billion. Alabama's cost was estimated at more than $234 million.
“There's no guarantee we can recover (money for the county),” said Plunk, who also praised the county's drug court program, which works with nonviolent offenders on rehabilitation so they can avoid jail. Those who graduate from the program have their cases dismissed.
“There's no family in the county who hasn't been affected by this,” he said.
Commission chairman Mark Yarbrough said inmate health care is the county's “biggest unknown expense.” Inmate health costs are paid from the county's general fund or a TVA-in-lieu-of-tax fund earmarked specifically for county health care costs. In some cases, it is paid from a combination of the two.
The county currently has a contract with Southern Health Partners, which costs $49,268.48 per month and includes an outside cost pool of $150,000 to cover outside medical expenses. Southern Health Partners will reimburse the county 80 percent of the balance of any unused funds in the pool.
Outside influences
Blakely explained while there haven't been any “pill mill” busts locally, many of those arrested with illegal opioids brought them into the county from somewhere else. He said investigators also face the occasional quandary because there are cases where a person caught with opioids may have a valid prescription.
“Working this type of drug case is more difficult for local law enforcement, because who are we to question if a person needs it?” Blakely said. “The bottom line is, even if we don't see a dime from this lawsuit, it will have an impact.”
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Rockingham County sues major opioid manufacturers, distributors
Dec 13, 2017 | Rockingham Now
By Joe Dexter
Rockingham County has served notice to several major opioid distributors and manufacturers by filing a federal civil suit seeking financial relief for the unlawful distribution of opioids and the failure to report and prevent suspicious orders.
The lawsuit was announced at a press conference held by the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners late Wednesday morning.
The 165-page document filed Tuesday night by Winston-Salem-based attorney Garry Whitaker in the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro, seeks civil action to, “eliminate the hazard to public health and safety caused by the opioid epidemic, to abate the nuisance caused.”
The action also calls to recoup the amount of money spent by the county because of the distributor and manufacturers “false, deceptive and unfair marketing and/or unlawful diversion of prescription opioids.”
It lists 23 total defendants and includes major distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health, and McKessen Corporation.
Opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions, Allergan, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Actavis Pharma and Mallinckrodt Pharmacueticals are also named as defendants, amongst others.
The filing comes just eight days after the board unanimously approved an Authority to Represent-Contingency agreement with Mississippi-based McHugh Fuller Law Group, which has formed a consortium with several other national law firms across the country.
Rockingham County also retained the services of Dallas-based national law group, Baron and Budd. The group has represented many major cities such as Cincinnati, Louisville and Birmingham Ala., in opioid litigation.
The consortium group represents over 110 clients across the U.S. with clients varying from the state, county and municipal level.
Currently litigation has also been filed by the consortium for Yakdin, Buncombe, New Hanover, Brunswick, Surry and Onslow counties.
According to the complaint, the opioid epidemic has been “particularly devastating” in Rockingham County.
It cites that during a nine-year period from 1999 to 2007, the county averaged a total of 7.33 deaths per year, with a total of 66 opiate-related deaths.
That average increased to 11.2 deaths per year with total deaths nearly doubling to 101 from 2008 through 2016.
Throughout most of 2017, Rockingham County EMS has responded to 109 opioid-related overdoses resulting in 45 deaths county-wide.
The complaint states that the Centers for Disease Control estimated that in Rockingham County approximately 131.9 opioid prescriptions were dispensed per 100 people in 2016.
That total is more than double the national average of 66.5, according to the civil filing.
The suit also aims at each manufacturer defendant for conducting a marketing scheme targeted at convincing patients and doctors that opioids should be used for chronic pain.
“In connection with this scheme, each manufacturer defendant spent, and continues to spend, millions of dollars on promotional activities and materials that falsely deny or trivialize the risk of opioids, while overstating the benefits of using them for chronic pain,” the case file states.
Officials contend that the lawsuit will also help abate the cost of the epidemic that the county commissioners deemed a public nuisance on Dec. 4.
The epidemic has led to a major increase in foster care, law enforcement and public safety costs.
Over 130 children entered the local foster care system as a result of substance abuse by a parent or parents from July 2016 through June of 2017.
In that same time span, expenses related to the opioid crisis have created a $100,000 burden in Rockingham County alone.
According to Whitaker, the total cost of admissions and expenses related to unintentional drug overdoses was $1.3 billion in 2015. He added that estimated costs in 2016 rose to $2.1 billion dollars.
"Our plan is to use any money as recovery for education and for any programs available at that time to combat that problem,” said Chairman Kevin Berger during the news conference. “We're trying to recover this money to help our citizens deal with the opioid crisis."
According to a contingency agreement approved by commissioners on Dec. 4, the county isn’t required to provide reimbursement of litigation expense or pay an attorney fee if there is no recovery in the lawsuit.
However, the consortium of attorneys will receive 30 percent of the county’s total recovery, whether the civil claim is “resolved by compromise, settlement, or trial (and appeal).”
Board Vice Chairman Reece Pyrtle said Wednesday that all five county commissioners are dedicated to doing what they can to mitigate the opioid problem the county faces.
“"We have to dedicate ourselves to doing more than just passing out Narcan. We have to do something on the preventive end and this is an important step that we can do within our span of control,” Pyrtle said. “I'm proud to be part of a board of commissioners that is united in taking these steps.”
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Law firm says Big Pharma misled consumers
Dec 13, 2017 | The Washington Times (DC)
By Julia Airey
A preliminary investigation of the pharmaceutical industry has uncovered misleading statements by drugmakers about the risks and efficacy of their products, according to a law firm hired by Montgomery County to sue Big Pharma for its role in the county’s opioid epidemic.
“Our investigation has revealed that manufacturers intentionally misled prescribers, patients and the public regarding the appropriate uses, risks, safety and efficacy of prescription opioids,” attorney Aisling Baig said Wednesday in an email to The Washington Times.
Ms. Baig, a partner with the San Francisco law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, said the investigation is nearing completion and a complaint will be filed in January.
On Tuesday, Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett announced the county’s hiring of Robbins Geller to sue the pharmaceutical industry.
During a Tuesday press conference at the County Executive’s Office in Rockville, Mr. Leggett introduced Ms. Baig, who said that drug manufacturers and distributors had failed to report suspicious sales of opioids, in violation of state and federal regulations.
That failure to report, as well as misleading marketing, forms the basis of the county’s lawsuit, she said.
Mr. Leggett said he sought legal action to hold companies responsible for their role in the crisis.
“I wish I could tell you that Montgomery County is immune from this epidemic. Unfortunately, I cannot do that.” Mr. Legget said Tuesday. “Death, addition, broken families, broken lives — we are living this reality each and every day.”
A study by the Montgomery County Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight this summer found that the county has had “sharp increases” in drug-related deaths in recent years, but fewer than other jurisdictions in Maryland. Raymond Crowel, chief of behavioral health and crisis services for the county’s health department, said 84 county residents died of opioid-related causes in 2016.
“And sadly, tragically, we are on pace to equal or exceed that number this year,” Mr. Crowel said during Tuesday’s press conference.
Statewide, there were 1,856 opioid-related deaths in 2016, a 70 percent increase over 2015, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in the opioid crisis in March.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 90 people die from opioid overdoses each day, with 30,000 Americans dying in 2015 alone.
Up to 80 percent of opioid addicts begin as medical patients with a legitimate prescription, according to the federal Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. However, the addictive nature of the expensive drugs result in many users stealing to support their habit, and eventually switching to the cheaper street drugs like heroin, or illegally recreated ones like fentanyl.
Mr. Crowel noted that the opioid cost is not just measured in lives lost, but also in Montgomery County’s overtaxed human services.
“We have police, fire and rescue, mental health, substance abuse and public health all working together to try to respond to this need,” he said. “But we have to [work harder] to get these prescription opioids off these streets.”
Montgomery County Attorney Marc Hansen said that Robbins Geller is especially qualified to represent the county due to the law firm’s long record of winning major fraud cases.
In 2005 Robbins Geller recovered $7 billion for the investors of the failed Texas energy company Enron. Last year, the firm recovered $1.5 billion in 2016 as part of a class-action complaint against British bank HSBC’s subprime lending that contributed to the 2008 housing crisis.
The firm also recovered $400 million in a 2015 settlement for shareholders pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer affected by a marketing fraud.
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Dec 14, 2017 | KVNA (CW)
By Austin, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422883?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3
Rough Transcript: sally:harris county is now suing prescription drug companies over the national opioid-drug epidemic.18 manufacturers, four doctors and a pharmacist are accused of creating a market that encouraged to over-prescribe opioids knowing that it could lead to addiction.out of the 25 hundred opioid-related deaths statewide in 2015, 318 were in harris county.the companies have denied any wrongdoing.2-john:parents
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Dec 14, 2017 | WKBTDT (MyNetwork TV)
By La Crosse, WI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422890?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3
Rough Transcript: la crosse county officials are still deciding whether to join a growing number of wisconsin counties suing opioid manufacturers. nearly 50 counties have joined the suit so far ... claiming manufacturers are to blame for the opioid crisis. county leaders discussed the lawsuit at yesterday's executive committee meeting... saying there is too much they do not know. the committee wants to figure out how many resources the county would need to commit to the lawsuit before making a final decision. "you know, th people power need to go through the discovery process to find all of the cases, 9:36 AMto do the redacting of information that is sensitive. so it's a very complex idea to consider." 48 out of wisconsin's 72 counties have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers. a drug commonly used to reverse opioid overdoses is being made available on nine university of wisconsin campuses. the u-w system is partnering with the pharmaceutical company adapt pharma' to supply narcan to campuses... including u-w la crosse. the u-w-l campus police department says it has been using narcan as a standard tool for about 18 months... but the new partnership adds another way to get the drug free of charge. "right now, knock on wood, we have not had any situations that we've had to use narcan. it's because of things that have happened i9n the past, that was one of the reasons why we wanted to make sure we had it as a tool." adapt pharma' says it has brought narcan to more than 200 campuses in the u-s since its partnership program launched in april. the company has also provided more the five- thousand free doses of the drug to high schools across the country. west salem high schoolers learned about the dangers of using their smart phones behind the wheel yesterday. the assembly was a part of a-t and t's it can wait' campign. the event showed how dangerous texting and smart phone use while driving can be through videos and simulations. students were also urged to take the it can wait' pledge to not text and drive. "and it's not jus the students, but we want to get the message out to their parents or relatives, really anybody who's driving a car to put the phone down and focus in on the road." wisconsin legislators made texting while driving illegal seven years ago. more than 20- million people have pledged to stay off their phones while driving... through the program.
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Dec 14, 2017 | WFMY (CBS)
By Greensboro, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422915?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3
Rough Transcript: rockingham county is taking a on a long list of opioid manufacturers and distributors in a new lawsuit attorneys filed a lawsuit we have county commissioners this week a lawsuit claims manufacturers use false deceptive and unfair marketing of o p lights the lawsuit ad companies quote possibly deny or trivial eyes the risk of opioid while overstating the benefits of using them for chronic pain so far this year point five people have died opioid overdoses in rockingham county as more than double the depths and twenty sixteen and four times the debs in twenty fifteen
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Dec 14, 2017 | KRIV (FOX)
By Houston, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422919?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3
Rough Transcript: harris county taking the stand against the opioid abuse epidemic. >> melissa: more than 300,000 lives have been lost in harris county each year due to the problem. at least 21 pharmaceutical companies and four local doctors have been named in a lawsuit filed by harris county attorney vince ryan. linking them to the opioid epidemic. the lawsuit claims they engage in a campaign that encouraged overprescribing patients. resulting in the long term use of opioids. >> over 90 people a day are dying in this country because of opioid addictions. and, that filters down to harris county where we have seen in the yaos year of 2015, 318 deaths directly ain the interested to opioid overdoses. >> three to four area doctors named in the civil lawsuithave federal criminal convictions for overprescribing opioids and the fourth doctor is criminally charged and awaiting trial. health insurance company aetna is joining the fight against the opioid crisis. starting on january 1st, patients will no longer have to make a co-payment on narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, typically prescribed by a doctor to patients who are believed to be at high risk for an overdose.
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Dec 13, 2017 | WISH (CW)
By Indianapolis, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31422930?token=dfbaa213-85c3-4aed-bc5e-ca1834ebe7c3
Rough Transcript: the city of bloomington.. along with monroe county is the latest to sue the the companies that produce and sell opioids. pharmacy data in the county reveals as many as 106 opioid prescriptions per 100 residents in the last few years. i-u health bloomington hospital reports that opioid overdoses increased by 433% from 2012 -2014. the lawsuit will seek damages in the form of funds to address the significant financial burdens that the opioid cris has placed on the city and county. the city of indianapolis announced a similar lawsuit
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Aetna waives co-pay for opioid overdose drug
Dec 12, 2017 | CNN Money
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner
Aetna says it will try to fight the opioid crisis by waiving anti-overdose drug co-pays and limiting first-time opioid prescriptions.
Starting on January 1, the co-pay on Narcan will be waived for some customers, the health insurer said on Tuesday. Narcan is a branded version of the naloxone nasal spray which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
"Aetna is committed to addressing the opioid crisis through prevention, intervention and treatment," said Harold L. Paz, Aetna's chief medical officer.
While Narcan is available over-the-counter in most states, physicians who believe their patients to be at risk of overdosing will often prescribe the drug, explained Aetna's Vice President for Clinical Strategy Dan Knecht. By waiving the co-pay, he added, the insurer can reduce barriers to patients getting the treatments they need.
Aetna (AET) said that while Narcan co-pays range between $0 and $150, most Aetna customers pay between $30 and $40 for the drug. The company also found that people who had to pay between $100.01 and $150 for Narcan were far less likely to pick up their prescription than people who had to pay between $40.01 and $50.
The waived co-pay only applies to Aetna's 4.6 million fully-insured commercial members. Those members get their health care through an employer, which in turn uses Aetna to offer, underwrite and administer health care services.
Aetna's 13.5 million self-insured customers -- who also get health care through an employer, but whose employer uses Aetna for administrative services only -- won't have access to the co-pay waiver (unless their employer opts into the program).
In addition, Aetna will cap the supply of opioids prescribed to commercial pharmacy members for acute pain, or after a surgery, to seven days. CVS (CVS) made a similar announcement in September.
To support the decision, Aetna pointed to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study which concluded that people who were prescribed at least one day of opioid therapy had a 6% chance of being addicted a year later -- but that those prescribed eight or more days of treatment saw that figure spike to 13.5%. The cap will take effect on January 1.
The CDC says drug overdose deaths last year are expected to top 64,000 when the numbers are finalized. Most of those overdoses involved an opioid.
President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency in October.
Health insurers, including Aetna, have taken steps in the past to fight the epidemic. Last year, Cigna started flagging high-risk customers -- those who got large amounts of opioid medicines, were on opioid medication for a long time or used different doctors to prescribe drugs -- and alerting those customers' doctors. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts started a similar program in 2012.
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