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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 12/21/17
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As Overdoses Mount, Cities and Counties Rush to Sue Opioid Makers
Dec 21, 2017 | The New York Times
By Mitch Smith & Monica Davey
Citing a spike in overdose deaths, growing demands for drug treatment and a strained budget, officials here in Summit County filed a lawsuit late Wednesday against companies that make or distribute prescription opioids. On Monday, Smith County in Tennessee did the same. And on Tuesday, nine cities and counties in Michigan announced similar suits. -
Trumbull County files lawsuit against pain medication companies
Dec 20, 2017 | WYTV
By Staff
Trumbull County has filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies, joining others like Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in going after those that produce pain medications. -
Dane County to pursue legal action against pharmaceutical companies for opioid epidemic
Dec 21, 2017 | Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
By Shelley K. Mesch
Dane County could join dozens of states, counties and cities suing pharmaceutical companies for actions they contend have contributed to the opioid overdose epidemic affecting Wisconsin and much of the country, County Executive Joe Parisi said Wednesday. -
Dane County to fight pharmaceutical companies in court over opioid epidemic
Dec 20, 2017 | The Daily Cardinal (WI)
By Thomas Yonash
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced Wednesday that the county will pursue legal action against pharmaceutical companies for their responsibility in the nation’s opioid epidemic. -
Drug Companies That Make Opioids Put On Notice
Dec 21, 2017 | WJOL (IL)
By Monica DeSantis
Local County prosecutors including Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow will be making a major announcement this morning. A lawsuit against drug companies that produce opioid pain medications. The announcement will be held in the DuPage County Board Room in Wheaton. -
Champaign County to hire lawyers to sue opioid manufacturers
Dec 21, 2017 | WAND (IL)
By Meredith Juliet
Champaign County has joined counties across the state in suing opioid manufacturers. -
McHenry County joining other officials to sue opioid drugmakers
Dec 21, 2017 | Northwest Herald (IL)
By Staff
McHenry County officials will join their counterparts from several other northern Illinois counties in a lawsuit against drugmakers that they claim have helped fuel an opioid epidemic. -
Dallas County joins the fight against opioid abuse
Dec 20, 2017 | Dallas County News (IA)
By Clint Cole
The Iowa State Association of Counties is taking action against “certain pharmaceutical companies” to help fight the opioid problem in the State of Iowa and across the country. On Tuesday, Dallas County approved a resolution, joining the ISAC in the suit. -
Randolph set to join counties’ opioid lawsuit
Dec 21, 2017 | The Inter-Mountain (WV)
By Tim Macvean
The Randolph County Commission has unanimously approved the signage of an order recognizing opioid abuse in the county as a public nuisance, as well as taking part in an opioid lawsuit along with several other counties. -
Grand Rapids to join Michigan cities suing big pharma over opioid epidemic
Dec 20, 2017 | Michigan Live (MI)
By Amy Biolchini
The city of Grand Rapids is joining a nationwide legal challenge against big-name drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. -
Pierce County to Sue Big Pharma
Dec 20, 2017 | The Suburban Times (WA)
By Staff
On December 15, at the request of Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, the Pierce County Council authorized the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office to file a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other major pharmaceutical companies. The proposed lawsuit is based on company conduct that contributed to the opiate epidemic in Pierce County and Washington State. -
MN Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Suing Pharmaceutical Companies Over Opioid Crisis
Dec 21, 2017 | KVRR (MN)
By TJ Nelson
White Earth Reservation is reporting seven overdose related calls over the weekend with two resulting in deaths. -
Washington County will join litigation related to opioid crisis
Dec 21, 2017 | White Bear Press (MN)
By Staff
The Washington County Board of Commissioners agreed Nov. 28 to retain an outside law firm on contingency to commence civil litigation against opioid drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors. -
Prince's home county plans to sue opioid companies
Dec 20, 2017 | Chanhanssen Villager (MN)
By Alex Chhith
The Carver County Board of Commissioners voted to take the next step in seeking legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors, Tuesday. -
Read the lawsuit: Greenfield sues big pharma to recoup opioid crisis costs
Dec 20, 2017 | Massachussets Live
By Mary C. Serreze
Greenfield has filed a federal lawsuit against a slate of major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, joining dozens of municipalities across the country that have taken similar legal action in response to the nation's opioid addiction crisis. -
Pharma companies state their case
Dec 20, 2017 | Greenfield Recorder (MA)
By Andy Castillo
Following the announcement of Greenfield’s lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers last week, several of the pharmaceutical companies named in the suit have responded in defense of their actions. -
Tennessee county files federal opioid lawsuit against drug companies
Dec 20, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman
Smith County is the first county in Tennessee to file a federal lawsuit against major drug companies seeking to recoup funds expended responding the community's opioid crisis, according to a report from Nashville Public Radio. -
DeKalb Files Suit Against Opioid Manufacturers and Distributors (PRESS RELEASE)
Dec 21, 2017 | Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
DeKalb County officials and community leaders are facing escalating costs associated with law enforcement, emergency care, and treatment to help those suffering from opioid abuse. In continuing their efforts to confront this crisis, on Wednesday, December 20, 2017, DeKalb County filed a complaint in Superior Court seeking damages for use of public resources to fight the opioid epidemic. -
Bay Co. Commissioners Agree on Law Firm for Opioid Lawsuit
Dec 20, 2017 | My Panhandle.com (FL)
By Erin Morgan
Bay County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning on which law firm to use in their fight against opioid addiction. -
Commission delays opiod suit decision until Jan. 4
Dec 21, 2017 | Daily Mountain Eagle (AL)
By Ed Howell
After a lengthy presentation by an attorney Monday, the Walker County Commission decided to wait until the Thursday, Jan. 4, commission meeting to decide whether to join a class action lawsuit against opiod manufacturers. -
Fueled by drug crisis, U.S. life expectancy declines for a second straight year
Dec 21, 2017 | Washington Post
By Lenny Bernstein & Christopher Ingram
American life expectancy at birth declined for the second consecutive year in 2016, fueled by a staggering 21 percent rise in the death rate from drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. -
Life expectancy is down for a second year. Drug overdoses are a big reason why.
Dec 21, 2017 | USA TODAY
By Kim Painter
Health researchers have some grim news for Americans: We are dying younger, and life expectancy is now down for the second straight year — something not seen in more than half a century. -
State AGs Think Opioid Class Actions will be the Next ‘Big Tobacco’ Settlement (EDITORIAL)
Dec 20, 2017 | The National Law Review
By Clay T. Lee
At this point, it’s not really ground-breaking news that America has a problem with opioid drugs. By way of anecdote, when I became a federal prosecutor in 2011, the last heroin case that had been prosecuted in the Nashville U.S. Attorney’s office was in the early-1990s; although, to be fair, there were then lots of what we called “pill” cases involving opioids. When I left the office in 2017, at least half of the office’s major investigations were directly related to opioids–some pills, but mostly outright heroin or fentanyl/carfentanyl . In Nashville, Tennessee, OxyContin (which is an opioid-based painkiller) can be worth up to $1.25/milligram (mg). That means that just one 80mg OxyContin has a street value of $100. Price, is of course, a reflection of demand and demand, in this case, is driven by addiction. -
Following suit (EDITORIAL)
Dec 21, 2017 | Journal Gazette (IN)
By Chad Ryan
Scott County, Indiana, became the face of the opioid crisis when an HIV outbreak drew national media attention in early 2015. The cost of the epidemic – in both lives and public expense – came sharply into focus. -
Distributor reacts to opioid suit
Dec 21, 2017 | Tribune Chronicle (OH)
By Renee Fox
An association representing several entities named in a 270-page lawsuit filed against manufacturers, distributors and doctors involved in the opioid pain pill industry said their distributors have been unfairly pegged as “scapegoats.” -
Lawsuits may seek hundreds of billions from opioid makers
Dec 21, 2017 | AXIOS
By Steve LeVine
The city of Detroit yesterday joined a torrent of an estimated 400 cities, counties and states suing opioid makers. Their main allegation: the companies are complicit in an addiction crisis that has killed about 37,000 people in the U.S. in just the 12-month period ending in May, or 103 per day. -
Eyewitness News 4 at 6
Dec 21, 2017 | KOB (NBC)
By Albuquerque, NM
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515777?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
Good Day Chicago
Dec 21, 2017 | WFLD (FOX)
By Chicago, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515829?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
News at 8:30
Dec 21, 2017 | CLTV (CLTV)
By Chicago, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515825?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
KVRR Local News at 8
Dec 21, 2017 | KVRR (FOX)
By Fargo, ND
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515837?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
WSBT 22 News on Fox
Dec 21, 2017 | WSBTD (IN)
By South Bend, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515843?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
First News at 7am
Dec 21, 2017 | WYFXLD (FOX)
By Youngstown, OH
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515848?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
KIRO 7 News at 5AM
Dec 21, 2017 | KIRO (CBS)
By Seattle, WA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515891?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
KFOX Morning News
Dec 21, 2017 | KFOX (FOX)
By El Paso, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515896?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
FOX 17 This Morning
Dec 21, 2017 | WZTV (FOX)
By Nashville, TN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515900?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91 -
WAND TODAY News at 6am
Dec 21, 2017 | WAND (NBC)
By Champaign, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515908?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
New York Times - Opioid Litigation
Midwest (OH, WI, IL, IA, WV, MI)
Northwest (WA, MN)
Northeast (MA)
Southeast (TN, GA, FL, AL)
Commentary and FYIs
Broadcast Media Coverage
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As Overdoses Mount, Cities and Counties Rush to Sue Opioid Makers
Dec 21, 2017 | The New York Times
By Mitch Smith & Monica Davey
Citing a spike in overdose deaths, growing demands for drug treatment and a strained budget, officials here in Summit County filed a lawsuit late Wednesday against companies that make or distribute prescription opioids. On Monday, Smith County in Tennessee did the same. And on Tuesday, nine cities and counties in Michigan announced similar suits.
Cities, counties and states across the country are turning to the courts in the spiraling opioid crisis. What began a few years ago with a handful of lawsuits has grown into a flood of claims that drug companies improperly marketed opioids or failed to report suspiciously large orders. Close to 200 civil cases have been filed by local governments in the federal courts; dozens of other suits are playing out in state courts; and attorneys general from 41 states have banded together to explore legal options.
“There’s a new case being filed virtually every day, and I don’t see any end in sight,” said Paul J. Hanly Jr., a lawyer who represents some of the local governments.
Scores of plaintiffs’ lawyers met in Cleveland this week, where a judge has been assigned to oversee at least 189 of the federal cases — an indication, some lawyers say, that the legal fight could start to move more quickly and that its disparate strands might be worked out in one place. Some lawyers liken the situation to the state litigation against the tobacco industry in the 1990s, which ended with a global settlement, and involved some of the same lawyers.
“This litigation is like a big hammer — it’s like a tool where you’re hitting somebody upside the head to get their attention,” said Mike Moore, who as Mississippi attorney general filed the first state case against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and who now represents some government entities. “We have a public health emergency. It’s time to quit talking about it and, if people are serious about fixing it, let’s sit down and resolve it.”Continue reading the main story
Representatives for some of the drug makers and distributors deny the claims in the lawsuits and say they intend to vigorously defend their companies. In written statements, several companies pointed to efforts that they and industry groups have taken to stem opioid abuses and noted the role of the federal authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, in overseeing their products. They also rejected comparisons to tobacco.
“Unlike the past tobacco litigation, our medicines are approved by F.D.A., prescribed by doctors, and dispensed by pharmacists, as treatments for patients suffering from severe pain,” Robert Josephson, a spokesman for Purdue Pharma, which developed OxyContin, said in a written response to questions.
Here in Akron, officials said legally prescribed painkillers were often a precursor to addiction, overdose and drug abuse. Nanette Kelly, an Akron resident, said she became hooked on prescription pain pills after a back injury years ago and eventually turned to heroin.
“It’s hard to stay straight and be good,” said Ms. Kelly, who is undergoing treatment, “because there’s just heroin everywhere.”
Matthew J. Maletta, executive vice president and chief legal officer at the drug company Endo, said a comprehensive solution “must not only consider the product supply chain, but also individual patient risk factors and the role of prescribing health care providers.” Criminal trafficking of the drugs, including illegal internet sales and importation, also must be addressed, he said.
The legal battle is playing out as the sale of prescription opioids, which include oxycodone and hydrocodone, have quadrupled since 1999, as have overdose deaths. More than 183,000 people died from overdoses tied to prescription opioids in the 15 years leading up to 2015. And the larger drug crisis, including heroin and fentanyl obtained illicitly, is swamping the resources of local governments and draining their budgets, officials say.
Summit County officials say they spent $66 million dealing with the crisis between 2012 and last year. The county’s child protective agency spent more than $21 million in that period relocating children from homes where a relative was using opioids. Akron firefighters average around 100 overdose responses each month. And a mobile morgue was brought in when the medical examiner ran out of room.
“We’ve had enough here,” said Ilene Shapiro, the county executive, who has declared a public health emergency. She said she hoped the courts could force changes in the way the drugs are marketed and, perhaps, impose a hefty financial settlement or judgment.
“They absolutely knew what they were doing: Their business practices, the way they did it, the way they marketed it,” said Chief Morber.
But legal experts said the lawsuits against the drug makers and distributors are anything but simple. The cases vary when it comes to the companies they name as defendants and are complicated by all sorts of elements — including the roles of others in what has happened, from medical doctors to heroin dealers to the F.D.A., which regulates prescription medications.
“My guess is that nobody wants to really try these cases,” said Richard C. Ausness, a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law.
In Barberton, a small city in Summit County that is also suing, rookie police officers must quickly master how to make death notifications, how to refer addicts to treatment and how to administer Narcan, the overdose antidote. The police chief, Vince Morber, said the pharmaceutical companies “owe us an apology.”
Critics say the litigation is a sideshow in the opioid debate — a chance for lawyers to make money and politicians to make headlines — rather than a lasting solution in the overwhelming crisis, which the president’s Council of Economic Advisers last month estimated as having cost $504 billion in 2015.
“Indeed, by allowing them to take credit for doing something about the problem, the lawsuits may take the pressure off of public officials” to make real changes, Lars Noah, a professor at the University of Florida College of Law, said.
But lawyers for some counties, cities and states say the litigation could force real changes, such as far wider availability of overdose antidotes, sufficient money to get all addicts into treatment, and the development of a robust prevention and education program. The consolidation of the federal cases in a so-called multidistrict litigation could also speed the process, the lawyers said.
“It’s a major opportunity to have a significant impact on this health epidemic now and not five years from now,” said Joseph F. Rice, whose firm, Motley Rice, represents some of the cases, and who played a central role in negotiating the tobacco settlement. “Will the parties take advantage? Will the court take advantage? That’s yet to be seen.”
In Summit County, the number of fatal drug overdoses has subsided slightly since a peak of 298 last year, but paramedics, politicians and law enforcement officials still view opioids as an uncontained epidemic with no easy fixes.
Firefighters say they sometimes revive the same person again and again, and the medical examiner has gotten used to notifying families of drug deaths of multiple relatives. One woman lost two siblings and two nephews to overdoses in less than a year. Charlene Maxen and her husband, Jim, lost their two sons to opioid overdoses in the same month in 2015.
“I used to look at people that never had a family and say, ‘What do they do when they get old?’” said Mr. Maxen, a retired accountant. “We’re going to find out.”
Dan Horrigan, the mayor of Akron, said the crisis had become “a gut punch to the community, and we need to be able to get a handle on it.” He said a number of ground-level efforts to help addicts here showed promise, but “there is a fire going on and it needs more water to put it out.”
Among the signs for hope: A health clinic that opens before dawn and provides methadone for people seeking to end their opioid addictions; home visits by city workers offering help to people who recently overdosed; and Judge Joy Malek Oldfield’s drug court, where a stream of young defendants approached the bench on Monday to receive praise, scoldings and even applause.
“When you get sober, it’s not just rainbows and unicorns,” the judge told one. “But it’s a better life, don’t you think?”
Judge Oldfield said about 90 percent of people in drug court were addicted to opiates, which she called “much more difficult to manage” than other addictions. One man, shackled and clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, appeared in front of her again on Monday. He had relapsed not long ago.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” Judge Oldfield told him.
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Trumbull County files lawsuit against pain medication companies
Dec 20, 2017 | WYTV
By Staff
Trumbull County has filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies, joining others like Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in going after those that produce pain medications.
Trumbull County Commissioners filed the lawsuit, seeking damages, on Monday in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. The 266-page lawsuit lists the defendants as Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon and Johnson and Johnson, among others.
It alleges that the companies put “corporate greed” and profits above the health and well-being of Trumbull County consumers. The county also alleges that it has been forced to spend “exorbitant amounts of money” as a result of the Defendants’ actions.
Like DeWine’s lawsuit that was filed earlier this year, Trumbull County alleges that the opioid companies were deceptive in their marketing. They say companies knew that the drugs like OxyContin and Percocet were addictive but misrepresented those risks to encourage health professionals to prescribe the drugs, not only for acute care, but for common pains like headaches and arthritis.
After DeWine filed his lawsuit, Janssen Pharmaceuticals called the allegations “legally and factually unfounded.” Purdue Pharma said it’s committed to working collaboratively to find solutions to the opioid crisis, saying that it had already been developed abuse-deterrent technology.
Trumbull County is seeking a trial by jury.
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Dane County to pursue legal action against pharmaceutical companies for opioid epidemic
Dec 21, 2017 | Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
By Shelley K. Mesch
Dane County could join dozens of states, counties and cities suing pharmaceutical companies for actions they contend have contributed to the opioid overdose epidemic affecting Wisconsin and much of the country, County Executive Joe Parisi said Wednesday.
Under a resolution to be introduced Thursday to the County Board, county lawyers would be instructed to pursue a legal remedy to hold the companies accountable for what Parisi called their responsibility in triggering the epidemic.
“The opioid epidemic has hit local communities hard across the United States, and Dane County is no exception,” Parisi said in a statement. “It’s time to tell pharmaceutical companies that enough is enough.”
Parisi said the companies should not be making a profit from prescription opioids while local governments and communities spend millions of dollars to address the rise in overdoses and treat drug-addicted residents.
“The drug companies manufacture, promote, advertise and push opioids and have made millions on these drugs that have caused so much suffering in our community,” Parisi said.
According to the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, more than 300,000 opioid prescriptions have been dispensed for Dane County residents each year since 2013.
Dane County Emergency Medical Services responded to 643 suspected overdoses in 2017 compared to 486 suspected overdoses in 2016. Public Health Madison and Dane County found the rate of prescription opioid deaths doubled from 6.3 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2000 to 12.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2016. In the same time frame, deaths involving heroin tripled from 3 per 100,000 to 10.1 per 100,000.Advertisement (1 of 1): 0:12
About $7.5 million in Dane County’s 2017 budget went toward alcohol and drug abuse treatment as well as prevention. Grant revenue totaling more than $700,000 from the state and federal government was directed specifically toward treatment for those using opioids or intravenous drugs.
“While we plan to seek legal and financial redress, our end goal is to rein in the abuse of opioids and reduce the human toll and suffering for which these drugs are responsible,” Parisi said.
About two-thirds of Wisconsin’s counties have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. One suit, filed by nearly two dozen counties in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, lists Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions Inc. and subsidiaries of the companies as defendants, which have denied allegations of causing the opioid overdose epidemic.
Purdue Pharma is “deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” the company said in a statement.
Endo Health Solutions said its “top priorities” include patient safety and ensuring access to safe and effective options for patients with chronic pain. Johnson & Johnson said in a statement to The Associated Press that allegations made in lawsuits against the company from various municipalities are “legally and factually unfounded.”
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Dane County to fight pharmaceutical companies in court over opioid epidemic
Dec 20, 2017 | The Daily Cardinal (WI)
By Thomas Yonash
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced Wednesday that the county will pursue legal action against pharmaceutical companies for their responsibility in the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Between 2000 and 2016, Dane County has seen a significant rise in the rate in prescription overdose deaths from 6.3 per 100,000 residents to 12.4 per 100,000. Heroin-involved deaths have jumped from 3.0 per 100,000 to 10.1 per 100,000.
“The opioid epidemic has hit local communities hard across the United States, and Dane County is no exception,” said Parisi. “It’s time to tell pharmaceutical companies that enough is enough.”
The county has begun a number of different initiatives to combat the rise in overdoses. One such program is the ED2Recovery Program which groups people who have recently overdosed with “recovery coaches” who can guide them to long-term treatment.
The county also received $733,000 in state and federal grants to provide treatment for those using opioids or other drugs intravenously.
Dane County joins a growing list of municipalities that have decided to take legal action against pharmaceutical companies, including Chicago, Seattle and Cincinnati.
A resolution directing the Dane County Corporation Counsel to pursue the lawsuit will be discussed at tomorrow night’s board meeting.
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Drug Companies That Make Opioids Put On Notice
Dec 21, 2017 | WJOL (IL)
By Monica DeSantis
Local County prosecutors including Will County State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow will be making a major announcement this morning. A lawsuit against drug companies that produce opioid pain medications. The announcement will be held in the DuPage County Board Room in Wheaton.
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow will join DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, and leaders and prosecutors from DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Lake Counties.
Illinois governments who are trying to recoup money from the people who they blame for the state’s opioid crisis.
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Champaign County to hire lawyers to sue opioid manufacturers
Dec 21, 2017 | WAND (IL)
By Meredith Juliet
Champaign County has joined counties across the state in suing opioid manufacturers.
"It's an issue that has impacted all sorts of people and counties in Illinois and all across the country," Ryan Bradley, of Koester & Bradley, LLP, says.
The issue on the table is opioids. The Champaign County Board has unanimously voted to pursue legal action against the drug makers.
"The intent of the litigation is to allow the county to recover the expenses associated with the opioid epidemic," Bradley says.
He says, the opioid epidemic has cost counties in many different ways.
"It can be anything from the coroner's office and the inability to preform autopsies to nalaxone and the drugs given to overdose patients, health care, insurance cost," Bradley says. "Internally, lost productivity and lost time to the county law enforcement jails... it's kind of every layer that you peel back the more impact that you find."
Koester and Bradley is one of three firms on the case across the state. He says there is a lot of validity in claims that opioid manufacturers are partly to blame for the opioid epidemic.
"The science and the data behind our arguments will prove to show that there was some knowledge that the opioids and drugs were actually highly addictive instead of minimally addictive," Bradley says, "and that the process was one that was flawed from the start."
Lawyers say it could be months, or even years, before the case makes it to trial.
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McHenry County joining other officials to sue opioid drugmakers
Dec 21, 2017 | Northwest Herald (IL)
By Staff
McHenry County officials will join their counterparts from several other northern Illinois counties in a lawsuit against drugmakers that they claim have helped fuel an opioid epidemic.
The announcement of the lawsuits will come at a 10 a.m. news conference Thursday in the DuPage County Board room.
McHenry County officials will join Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and leaders and prosecutors from DuPage, Kane and Lake counties for what they call a major announcement regarding lawsuits against companies that produce opioid pain medications, according to an advisory issued by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.
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Dallas County joins the fight against opioid abuse
Dec 20, 2017 | Dallas County News (IA)
By Clint Cole
The Iowa State Association of Counties is taking action against “certain pharmaceutical companies” to help fight the opioid problem in the State of Iowa and across the country. On Tuesday, Dallas County approved a resolution, joining the ISAC in the suit.
The resolution, which was approved unanimously at the end of the discussion, states that the county is “attempting to hold those persons and entities that had a significant role in the creation of the Opioid Epidemic responsible for the financial costs assumed by Dallas County and other public agenices across the country in dealing with the Opioid Epidemic.”
While there are costs associated with dealing with the opioid problem in the jail and in the community, Dallas County Attorney, Wayne Reisetter said that, in his view, it’s not about the money.
“It’s about raising public awareness that, one, we do have a problem and it does affect us here in Dallas County,” Reisetter said. “It affects the jail operations, it affects the public health, it is of concern and we all need to pay attention and do whatever we can, and so the fact that a local board would pass a resolution to move forward with the litigation is making a statements.”
Doug Lande of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office said that the opioid problem is not only relevant in the metropolitan area, but also in the rural counties and that the Dallas County Jail has an opioid withdrawal protocol.
“It’s a special watch, a special medication,” Lande said. “We use it quite often.”
The resolution states that the County’s participation will require them to provide information and materials to the law firms, Crueger Dickinson LLC, Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC and Von Briesen and Roper, S.C. as requested and when necessary.
The board, as well as County Attorney, Wayne Reisetter contemplated the effects this would have on the County Departments, like the Sheriff’s Department and Community Services, but they feel that the officers in those departments are supportive of the action.
ISAC put out a survey recently and six counties said that they would move forward with the litigation, three counties said they would not move forward and 15 said that they were still considering it.
“The remainder of the Iowa Counties had not responded to it,” Reisetter said.
The discussion started during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5 after the board received a letter from ISAC, for which Reisetter serves as the attorney, requesting the County to get invovlved with the suit. ISAC approved a resolution on Nov. 17, encouraging its member Counties to support the nationwide litigation.
“The ISAC Board believes it is important for counties in Iowa to join counties in other states to form a unified front on this litigation,” the letter read. “It is their hope that Iowa counties can be an example of strength in this unified and coordinated effort.”
The resolution states that the costs association with the claims against the opioid manufacturers would be borne by the law firms.
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Randolph set to join counties’ opioid lawsuit
Dec 21, 2017 | The Inter-Mountain (WV)
By Tim Macvean
The Randolph County Commission has unanimously approved the signage of an order recognizing opioid abuse in the county as a public nuisance, as well as taking part in an opioid lawsuit along with several other counties.
The order states “that addiction to and abuse of opioids is one of the greatest challenges facing Randolph County,” and “Vast amounts of prescription opioid pain pills were sold, distributed and prescribed in Randolph County over the past several years, which practice continues today.”
Commissioners went on to say in their order that the overabundance of prescription pills has created hazards for members of the community.
“The selling, distributing and prescribing of large amounts of opioid pain pills in out community has created a public health and safety hazard affecting the residents of Randolph County, resulting in devastation to our families, a negative effect on our economy, wasted public resources and a generation of narcotic dependence,” the order reads.
The order adds that officials believe manufacturers of opioid prescription pills “wrongfully abused” their privileges, leading to the joining of the lawsuit.
“That manufacturers of prescription opioids and those in the chain of distribution have wrongfully abused the privilege of selling and/or providing medication to our residents and must be held accountable,” the order states.
“I don’t know if you all have seen on ’60 Minutes’ — the last two weeks they have run an expose about the willfulness of drug (manufacturers) — they knew what they were doing according to the expose and they willfully discharged millions of opioid prescriptions’ realizing how addictive they are and what consequences they could have,” Commissioner Mark Scott said during the meeting. “There were internal memos that were warning of such and they were ignored and they put profits above the health of our citizens.”
Randolph County made the decision to join in the lawsuit with Fitzsimmons Law Firm, PLLC, of Wheeling, representing the county.
“We had an opportunity to meet with this law firm. Fitzsimmons Law Firm has a long-standing reputation with being involved in groundbreaking cases,” Scott said. “They were involved in the (National Football League) lawsuit with traumatic brain injuries several years ago and they have a sterling reputation. They are already representing, I believe, nine other counties so we will be joining that suit on behalf of the citizens of Randolph County.”
Commission President Mike Taylor noted that joining in the lawsuit would be at no cost to the county, and payment would be based on the outcome of the suit.
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Grand Rapids to join Michigan cities suing big pharma over opioid epidemic
Dec 20, 2017 | Michigan Live (MI)
By Amy Biolchini
The city of Grand Rapids is joining a nationwide legal challenge against big-name drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.
The city commission voted unanimously to move forward with a lawsuit at its Tuesday, Dec. 19, meeting.
The city will retain the legal services of Elizabeth Welch of Welch Law in Grand Rapids, Mark Bernstein of The Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills and Paul Novak of the Detroit office of Weitz & Luxemberg. All three attorneys were present to answer the commission's questions Tuesday night.
Earlier Tuesday, Bernstein and Novak filed federal civil lawsuits on behalf of nine Michigan cities and counties against a number of companies including Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin, several other drug makers, and large pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Costco.
The lawsuits claim the companies knew of the potential damage of the drugs they were distributing, but continuously turned a blind eye to "suspicious orders" that included massive amounts of opioids. The lawsuits also claim the companies are heavily responsible for drug overdose deaths from opioids, and secondary costs like addiction treatment, ongoing health issues, child care and law enforcement.
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said the community will compile its costs for responding to the opioid epidemic, including the cost of police and firefighter response to overdose calls, court costs, Narcan doses and portable AEDs -- in order to seek damages.
"The lawsuit that we're looking at, as well as other cities, is to really hold the manufacturers and distributors accountable, which we know is really critical," Bliss said.
Though the lawsuits ask the court to force companies to award damages for opioid-related deaths, treatment and law enforcement costs, the lawyers behind the case say the intent is to change behavior.
"The goal even more than a financial recovery is to send a big enough message to pharma distributors and manufacturers so there's a radical change not only in how these drugs are promoted but to how they are manufactured," Novak said.
Bernstein said the legal team would be fronting the costs. The city would have to pay a 30 percent legal fee to the team should they be awarded a settlement, City Attorney Anita Hitchcock said.
Bernstein said the legal team expects dozens more Michigan cities to retain their services and file similar suits. So far, the Michigan communities to file suits are the cities of Detroit, Lansing, Escanaba and the counties of Macomb, Gennessee, Delta, Saginaw, Grand Traverse and Chippewa.
The lawsuits aren't class action - rather, a mass action, Novak said.
Local lawyers will work directly with each municipality on the suit -- in this case, Welch Law in Grand Rapids. The statewide caseload will be partly managed by Bernstein's firm. Novak's firm, New York-based Weiss and Luxemberg, is hoping to play a larger role in the future to facilitate possibly thousands of cases nationwide.
Novak said cases filed across the country will be sent for a consolidated discovery process in Cleveland, where one judge will preside over hundreds to thousands of cases.
The court will eventually appoint an overarching executive committee, and Novak said Weiss and Luxemberg will propose being appointed to that role.
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Pierce County to Sue Big Pharma
Dec 20, 2017 | The Suburban Times (WA)
By Staff
On December 15, at the request of Prosecutor Mark Lindquist, the Pierce County Council authorized the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office to file a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other major pharmaceutical companies. The proposed lawsuit is based on company conduct that contributed to the opiate epidemic in Pierce County and Washington State.
“Emerging evidence shows that Purdue and other drug manufacturers engaged in a deceptive marketing campaign that fueled the opiate crisis,” said Prosecutor Lindquist. “Where there is harm to the people, there should be accountability for the corporations.”
Pierce County joins the State of Washington, the City of Tacoma, the City of Seattle, and the City of Everett, among other government entities across the nation, in pursuing litigation against Purdue, the manufacturer of OxyContin. The council vote authorizing the action came after months of research, due diligence, and Lindquist’s recommendation.
“The opiod crisis has impacted nearly every department in our county,” said Pierce County Council Chair Doug Richardson. “Whether it’s the Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management, Public Health, or the court system, Pierce County has shouldered a heavy burden in dealing with this crisis.”
All of the lawsuits allege harms to the public that are social, economic, and even fatal. Purdue’s profits from OxyContin and other opiates are estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
“Opioid manufacturers profited from business practices that have done enormous damage to our community,” said Council Member Derek Young.
Between 1997 and 2011, prescriptions and sales of opioids in Washington rose more than 500 percent. In 2015, the number of overdose deaths in Washington exceeded the number of deaths from car accidents and firearms. Homelessness and crime are also associated with opiate addiction.
“This is a health issue and a public safety issue,” Lindquist said.
In March of this year, Purdue asked a federal judge to dismiss the City of Everett’s lawsuit. Purdue argued that the connection between Purdue’s conduct and the alleged harm was too remote. In September, the judge dismissed one of the city’s claims, but allowed the case to proceed. The city amended and refiled the dismissed claim.
The City of Everett alleged that Purdue should be held liable for, “supplying OxyContin to obviously suspicious physicians and pharmacies and enabling the illegal diversion of OxyContin into the black market, including to drug rings, pill mills and other dealers.
“We’ve studied the Everett lawsuit, the arguments and the rulings,” said Lindquist. “Our situation has both similarities and differences. We wanted to be sure we had sufficient facts and proper legal grounds before we proceeded. I’m now confident we do.”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson also filed a lawsuit late this year. He alleged that Purdue was “embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign,” among other allegations.
The City of Tacoma lawsuit, and the anticipated lawsuit from Pierce County, will also focus on Purdue’s marketing campaign. The County will likely ask for both injunctive relief, to change Purdue’s business practices, as well as financial reparations to assist the county in addressing issues associated with opiate addiction, including the burden on the criminal justice system and social services.
Lindquist will deputize attorneys from a private law firm who have expertise in this area. The collaboration with a private firm will have no significant cost to the county, as the lawyers’ fees will be contingent upon winning an award from Purdue and other entities responsible for the crisis.
The Prosecutor’s Office will likely file the lawsuit in the coming weeks.
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MN Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Suing Pharmaceutical Companies Over Opioid Crisis
Dec 21, 2017 | KVRR (MN)
By TJ Nelson
White Earth Reservation is reporting seven overdose related calls over the weekend with two resulting in deaths.
White Earth Police Department along with the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Department are both encouraging users to seek medical help and treatment as soon as possible.
Minnesota’s Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is suing pharmaceutical companies for the opioid crisis.
More than 20 drug manufacturers and distributors are being sued by the tribe in federal court.
In a 134 page complaint, the tribe says the distribution of prescription opioids has led to addiction, abuse, elevated crime levels and deaths.
The tribe is seeking a jury trial, unspecified monetary damages and a judgment declaring that the drug companies have created a “public nuisance.”
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Washington County will join litigation related to opioid crisis
Dec 21, 2017 | White Bear Press (MN)
By Staff
The Washington County Board of Commissioners agreed Nov. 28 to retain an outside law firm on contingency to commence civil litigation against opioid drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors.
More than 60 similar lawsuits have been filed by states, counties, and cities around the United States. Such litigation seeks to hold manufacturers responsible for misconduct related to opioid oversupplying portions of the market. Any relief obtained would directly serve Washington County and its residents.
No lawsuit has been filed to date by any governmental entity in Minnesota, although several Minnesota counties and cities are considering litigation. In late October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid epidemic to be a public health emergency.
The board was provided with statistics regarding the opioid crisis in Minnesota, including:
• In 2016, there were 153 accidental opiate-related deaths in Minnesota, compared with 97 in 2015.
• According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 23 Washington County residents died of drug overdose in 2016; 11 of these deaths were attributed to opioids.
• The rate of opioid overdose deaths in Washington County is 4.6 per 100,000 persons. The state rate is 7.1 per 100,000.
• MDH data on opioid overdose deaths from 2000-2016 shows 99 deaths in the county. The last five years show a significant change in the trend: six deaths in 2012; seven deaths in 2013; 14 deaths in 2014; 10 deaths in 2015; and 11 deaths in 2016.
• The greatest number of opioid-involved deaths continues to be due to commonly prescribed opioids (e.g., oxycodone, hydrocodone).
• In 2016, in the Twin Cities area, opioid overdose deaths were driven by heroin and synthetic opioids. Heroin-involved deaths increased by 41 percent. Synthetic opioid-involved deaths (e.g., fentanyl) increased by 142 percent.
• Minnesota Student Survey data for Washington County shows that 6.6 percent of 11th-grade students reported that they had used prescription pain relievers at least once in the past 12 months, 5 percent reported using psychedelics, 4.6 percent used over-the-counter medications, and 7.3 percent used prescription drugs, such as Ritalin. This compares to 44.4 percent using alcohol and 26.9 percent using marijuana.
• In 2016, 6.6 percent of 11th-grade boys and 7.2 percent of 11th-grade girls reported they had used prescription drugs "not prescribed for you" in the past 30 days.
• In Washington County in 2016, there were 12 arrests for synthetic narcotics, 21 for opium, cocaine, etc., compared to 444 for marijuana and 371 for “other,” including methamphetamine.
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Prince's home county plans to sue opioid companies
Dec 20, 2017 | Chanhanssen Villager (MN)
By Alex Chhith
The Carver County Board of Commissioners voted to take the next step in seeking legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors, Tuesday.
The county’s most high profile opioid death was of rock star Prince Rogers Nelson, who was found dead in his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen in 2016 after an overdose.
Most recently, Leah Victoria Peterson, is facing a third-degree murder charge after Chaska resident John Hall died from a drug overdose. Authorities claim Peterson arranged the drug deal.
The action by the commissioners authorizes county officials to seek a retainer with outside counsel for the litigation. It follows similar actions local governments have been taking across the country in an effort to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors responsible for opioid deaths, said Carver County District Attorney Mark Metz.
“We are coming forward now — it shows unity across the state,” Metz said.
More than 60 local and state governments have filed or plan to file lawsuits nationwide, according to Metz. In Minnesota, Washington, Mower and Ramsey counties have filed federal lawsuits, according to the Minnesota County Attorneys Association’s website.
“We are trying to hold manufacturers responsible in their conduct in regards to opioid marketing,” said Metz, who is leading the county’s efforts. He added the litigation will try to hold opioid distributors responsible for oversupplying the drugs.
Any monetary funds obtained could go toward addiction treatment, educational treatment, drug collections and even Narcan — a medication authorities administer in case someone overdoses.
“We want to stop them from what they are doing and hold them accountable and provide relief for future care and education,” Metz said.
When asked if the county could recoup costs associated with Prince’s death, Metz said it’s something officials haven’t looked into yet.
There will be no out-of-pocket costs to Carver County, Metz said. The company that will likely handle the case, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P, will cover litigation costs. If the county receives payments from the opoid companies, Lockridge will receive about 25 percent.
“We have to hold them accountable if you are abusing your duties all in the name of profit that’s what’s so sad about this — it is at the expense of people lives,” Metz said.
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Read the lawsuit: Greenfield sues big pharma to recoup opioid crisis costs
Dec 20, 2017 | Massachussets Live
By Mary C. Serreze
Greenfield has filed a federal lawsuit against a slate of major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, joining dozens of municipalities across the country that have taken similar legal action in response to the nation's opioid addiction crisis.
Fatal drug overdoses in Greenfield have nearly quadrupled in four years, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Dec. 13, and the city has absorbed costs in the form of medical treatment, emergency services, social services, law enforcement and providing support to addiction-ravaged families.
Among its defendants, the complaint names Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma -- the maker of Oxycontin -- as well as wholesale drug distributors.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO statute, as well as negligence, deceptive trade practices, civil conspiracy and fraud. It asserts that the defendants failed to prevent diversion and "fraudulently concealed their misconduct."
The companies knew addiction was fueling consumption, yet continued to deceptively market and distribute the drugs, the lawsuit states, making billions of dollars while overdose deaths skyrocketed. Pills, through diversion, have flooded communities, and pill addiction has fueled the black market in heroin and fentanyl, according to the allegations.
The city seeks compensation for past and future costs, the creation of an abatement fund and punitive damages. It asks that the defendants be ordered to stop "unfair and deceptive practices."
The litigation is led by Thomas Merrigan of Sweeney Merrigan Law in Boston, and sanctioned by Mayor William Martin. Merrigan is a former district court judge in Greenfield.
Last year, there were half as many prescriptions as people in Franklin County, even after the county reduced that number from a peak of 68.2 prescriptions per 100 in 2014, according to the complaint.
Purdue Pharma told the Greenfield Recorder it is "deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and (is) dedicated to being part of the solution. ... We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."
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Pharma companies state their case
Dec 20, 2017 | Greenfield Recorder (MA)
By Andy Castillo
Following the announcement of Greenfield’s lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers last week, several of the pharmaceutical companies named in the suit have responded in defense of their actions.
“We aren’t willing to be scapegoats,” said John Parker, spokesman for Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a national trade alliance representing Mckesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. All three pharmaceutical companies are listed as defendants along with 21 other companies.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, requests financial reparations for the ongoing addiction epidemic. Its end-goal, according to District Attorney David Sullivan, is to hold opioid production and distribution businesses accountable for their role in creating the crisis — a role pharmaceutical companies say has been unfairly ascribed to them.
“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’s regulated,” Parker said, noting that distributors don’t make, market, prescribe, or dispense opioids to consumers.
A crux of all pharmaceutical companies’ arguments sent to The Recorder following Thursday’s news is that medical opioids have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Opioid production businesses operate legally, and with federal oversight.
“We believe the allegations in the lawsuits against our company are both legally and factually unfounded. Janssen has acted in the best interests of patients and physicians with regard to its opioid pain medicines, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about possible risks on every product label,” said Jessica Castles Smith, spokeswoman for Johnson and Johnson’s unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is also named as a defendant in the case.
Greenfield’s lawsuit harks to the Controlled Substances Act, legislation signed in 1970 by President Richard Nixon regulate drug production and distribution. The goal of that act was to have manufacturers “halt suspicious orders and control against the diversion of these dangerous drugs to illegitimate uses,” according to Sweeney Merrigan Law, which put together the lawsuit with Mayor William Martin.
While arguing their position, pharmaceutical companies acknowledged the addiction crisis and voiced support in finding a solution.
“Responsibly used opioid-based pain medicines give doctors and patients important choices to help manage the debilitating effects of chronic pain. At the same time, we recognize opioid abuse and addiction is a serious public health issue that must be addressed,” Smith said. “Addressing opioid abuse will require collaboration among many stakeholders and we will continue to work with federal, state and local officials to support solutions.”
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Tennessee county files federal opioid lawsuit against drug companies
Dec 20, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman
Smith County is the first county in Tennessee to file a federal lawsuit against major drug companies seeking to recoup funds expended responding the community's opioid crisis, according to a report from Nashville Public Radio.
In the lawsuit, Smith County claims to have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars responding to the opioid epidemic. The county is seeking reimbursement for money lost on law enforcement, healthcare and lost productivity among its residents.
"The opioid epidemic has created serious challenges for our county and our government," said Michael Nesbitt, mayor of Smith County, according to Nashville Public Radio. "Our goal is to hold the wrongdoers accountable and to recover taxpayer money that the opioid epidemic has consumed."
Other Tennessee counties and cities are poised to join the federal suit. Davidson County's metro council approved signing on to federal litigation on Tuesday. Earlier this year, three eastern Tennessee judicial districts filed a similar lawsuit in state court, according to the report.
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DeKalb Files Suit Against Opioid Manufacturers and Distributors (PRESS RELEASE)
Dec 21, 2017 | Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
DeKalb County officials and community leaders are facing escalating costs associated with law enforcement, emergency care, and treatment to help those suffering from opioid abuse. In continuing their efforts to confront this crisis, on Wednesday, December 20, 2017, DeKalb County filed a complaint in Superior Court seeking damages for use of public resources to fight the opioid epidemic.
The complaint which includes close to 30 defendants, alleges that the manufacturers, distributors and others involved intentionally mislead the public about the dangers of opioids. The focus of the complaint centers around the efforts by pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors to aggressively market opioid painkillers while downplaying addiction. The results of these campaigns have been widespread misuse and abuse of opioids such as OxyContin, Fentanyl and Percocet.
“The pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and distributors cannot continue to mislead the public,” Shayna E. Sacks, a partner at Napoli Shkolnik PLLC said. “This suit will hold big pharma accountable for the damage they have caused this community.”
Deaths in DeKalb County related to opioid abuse including heroin have skyrocketed in recent years. In fact, opioid overdose deaths in Georgia tripled between 1999-2013.
Hunter J. Shkolnik, a partner at Napoli Shkolnik PLLC said, “there will be no cost to the DeKalb County taxpayers with this filing. Our office is committed to working with the county in its efforts to combat the devastation these painkillers continue to cause.”
DeKalb County is represented by the firms of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC and the Law Office of Teri Thompson in coordination with the Office of the County Attorney.
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Bay Co. Commissioners Agree on Law Firm for Opioid Lawsuit
Dec 20, 2017 | My Panhandle.com (FL)
By Erin Morgan
Bay County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning on which law firm to use in their fight against opioid addiction.
At their first December meeting, Bay County Commissioners annouced that they were looking to bring on a team of attornies in order to sue pharmaceutical companies.
They are joining with hundreds of cities and counties across the state to try and recoup tax payer dollars that have been lost while fighting the crisis, and after hearing from two local law firms, commissioners agreed to use Bryant and Higby.
Bay County Commissioner, Guy Tunnell, said one reason they selected this law firm was because they also represent Panama City.
"We share a lot of similar interests, and concerns and issues, and I think it's important from a team effort for us to be linked with Panama City. We are one, and I think it's important that we are on the same team in this regard," he said.
Tunnell said the next step is to meet with the legal team and provide them with the information they need to move forward with the case.
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Commission delays opiod suit decision until Jan. 4
Dec 21, 2017 | Daily Mountain Eagle (AL)
By Ed Howell
After a lengthy presentation by an attorney Monday, the Walker County Commission decided to wait until the Thursday, Jan. 4, commission meeting to decide whether to join a class action lawsuit against opiod manufacturers.
The meeting, which was delayed from Jan. 1 due to the holiday season, will start at 9:30 a.m.
Commissioners are looking at joining a lawsuit that is being joined by a number of municipalities and counties across the nation and the state. Hamilton voted to join the lawsuit on Monday night, and cities in the county, such as Dora and Sumiton, have joined the suit.
Birmingham attorney Jeff Friedman of Friedman, Dazzio, Zulanas and Bowling, who is helping spearhead the suit, spoke during a 30-minute presentation to the commission about the suit on Monday, with District 4 Commissioner Steven Aderholt asking a number of questions. The commission decided to delay until Jan. 4, although Friedman said the commission cannot delay past January.
A copy of the suit was released at the meeting and given to commissioners.
Friedman told the commission that currently six counties and 20 cities in the state are involved, with a dozen public hospitals likely to be represented in time.
“We ask Walker County not remain on the sidelines anymore, to get in this case with Colbert County, Franklin County and all the other counties in this part of the state, and seek reimbursement for all time — the law enforcement time, jail time, healthcare time,” he said.
The county would not be out of pocket for any more funds and updates would come through County Attorney Eddie Jackson and his partner Jim Brakefield, who are involved in the suit. On the copy of the suit, the two lawyers’ names listed as attorneys for the plaintiffs are Friedman and Russellville attorney Jeffrey L. Bowling of Bedford, Rogers and Bowling.
Accountants would come up with a number for actual damages, he said.
“You can get money back into this county that is desperately needed to help do things very important and look after the welfare of the people,” he said.
Among the defendants are Purdue Pharma L.P. of Montgomery, Purdue Frederick Co., Inc., of Montgomery, TEVA Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., of Mountain Brook, Cephalon, Inc., of Mountain Brook, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of Montgomery, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., of Montgomery, Actavis Pharma of Mountain Brook, McKesson Corp. of Montgomery, Cardinal Health, Inc., of Montgomery, Amerisourcebergen Drug Corp. of Montgomery and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. of Montgomery. All have been fined by the federal government concerning opiods, Friedman said.
According to the suit, opiods include brand names such as OxyContin and Percocet, as well as generics like oxycodone and hydrocodone, and can be highly addictive and dangerous, and are only intended for short-term use — within 90 days — in treating pain.
However, the suit says the companies, in order to increase profits, created a false sense of safety in the minds of medical professionals and patients that would allow for longer use, using marketing campaigns that started in the late 1990s. It said the National Institutes of Health said the marketing was a major cause of the problem. The Food and Drug Administration in 2013 issued warnings about long-term use.
In 2012 alone, opiods generated $8 billion in revenue for drug companies — and 2.1 million Americans suffered that year from substance use disorders related to prescription opiod pain relievers. A total of 78 Americans died every day from opiod overdoses, the suit said.
Friedman pointed to reports recently from “60 Minutes” on CBS, including one Sunday night, detailing how congressional action and actions within the DEA hurt efforts to go after the drug companies in the opiod crisis.
He said the crisis especially hits rural counties hard, and has hit most counties in the state, including Walker County. Many urban counties in the state have also filed suit.
“This is a national matter. It deals with a national crisis,” he said, noting that many suits in the nation are being consolidated to within a single court in Cleveland, Ohio. As a result, the case cannot be brought locally. He compared the magnitude of the case with the asbestos and tobacco health litigations, as well as the suits over the BP oil spill.
“This is not a matter about a local pill mill or a rogue doctor,” Friedman said. “We have been misled for 20 years to believe the opiod problem is a result of some bad doctor or some careless person filling prescriptions. This is a problem that has to do with manufacturers and distributors on a nationwide basis, failing to uphold their statutory and legal responsibilities to effectively maintain control of who were getting these pills and how they were getting them, and turning a blind eye to it in the name of profits.”
He said the U.S. has 4 percent of the world’s population but consumes more than 80 percent of the world’s opiod painkillers. About 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone is consumed by Americans.
Friedman said McKesson Corporation, the nation’s fifth largest company with annual revenue of $200 billion, was featured on “60 Minutes.” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents said they were betrayed by the U.S. Justice Department by failing to put pressure on the drug companies profiting off the opiod crisis. The major reason for the company’s profits involves opiod sales.
In 2007, the DEA and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) decided to start issuing fines to drug companies for failing to have controls on distribution, resulting in millions in fines for several companies. McKesson paying fines, including one for $35 million. All the companies continue to show the same conduct, despite repeatedly paying fines, Friedman said.
Friedman said “60 Minutes” reported Sunday the FDA and DEA wanted to charge McKesson a $1 billion fine — the company’s fourth — for repeated violations. The company hired former Justice Department officials as lawyers and argued the fine down to $150 million, with the added provision their distribution center licenses would not be revoked.
He said self-policing mechanisms have also been abused in the nation, and opiods is a gateway drug that leads to drugs like heroin, crime in general and the public funding healthcare treatment for addicts.
Aderholt, who is president and owner of Central Alabama Urgent Care in Dora and, according to LinkedIn, has been in project management and consulting for Glover Drugs for the past 11 years, said he “came into the pharmacy world back in the mid-’90s and I actually saw where this thing began to escalate.” He said opiod-related deaths were flat until about 2000, when long-acting drugs, such as OxyContin, came more into play.
“When OxyContin came onto the market, and we realized the monster that it was, we created another one called methadone,” he said. Fentanyl has also pushed heroin into epidemic proportions as well.
At the same time, Aderholt worried the suit would allow officials to “use the true bad parts of the opiod manufacturing and sales and we’re going to demonize and cast a broad net onto all opiods. It is a little disconnected to me,” he said.
Friedman said the suit is not trying to outlaw painkillers or prevent short-term use. However, he said more opiod-related deaths are recorded than deaths caused by traffic accidents.
District 1 Commissioner Keith Davis said both of the “60 Minutes” reports were worth watching, saying some companies in distributing drugs are “breaking the law,” with the law rewritten by Congress to assist them. He said companies are supposed to red flag unusually large shipments they discover going to pharmacies and self-report. “They are not doing that,” he said, saying litigation is sometimes needed to make companies abide by what they are supposed to.
“If you follow the story and you pay attention to what is going on here, there is a blatant abuse of these distributors distributing the amount of pills. Just per capita, to one pharmacy in Kentucky was mind-blowing of what they were sending there,” he said. “I don’t know any other way to get their attention and get the laws to change or to get the companies to self-regulate themselves.”
Friedman said unless the commission gets in quickly, it will not have a seat at the table. He noted he would take any suggestions from the commission and try to work them in. He said the lawsuit over time will take years to litigate. Aderholt said if the commission wanted to vote that day, he would abstain. He said he preferred to table the motion so that he could gather more information, saying the litigation could be a “slippery slope” and that he wanted to make the right decision, even if he is in the minority. A motion from Davis to table until Jan. 4 was passed unanimously.
McKesson said in a statement that the accusations against them in the “60 Minutes” report were unsubstantiated and denied criminal behavior or intent. It said it was investing millions of dollars to improve its monitoring of controlled substances and was working to improve dialogue with the DEA and to warn pharmacists as they are filling prescriptions for patients at risk for abuse. It said more response to the report could be found at www.McKesson.com/FightingOpioidAbuse.
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Fueled by drug crisis, U.S. life expectancy declines for a second straight year
Dec 21, 2017 | Washington Post
By Lenny Bernstein & Christopher Ingram
American life expectancy at birth declined for the second consecutive year in 2016, fueled by a staggering 21 percent rise in the death rate from drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
he United States has not seen two years of declining life expectancy since 1962 and 1963, when influenza caused an inordinate number of deaths. In 1993, there was a one-year drop during the worst of the AIDS epidemic.
“I think we should take it very seriously,” said Bob Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the CDC. “If you look at the other developed countries in the world, they’re not seeing this kind of thing. Life expectancy is going up.”
The development is a dismal sign for the United States, which boasts some of the world’s highest spending on medical care, and more evidence of the toll the nation’s opioid crisis is exacting on younger and middle-aged Americans, experts said.
More than 42,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses alone in 2016, a 28 percent increase over 2015. When deaths from drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and benzodiazepines are included, the overall increase was 21 percent.
A multiyear decline in life expectancy is more commonly associated with AIDS epidemics in southern and eastern Africa or wars in Syria and Afghanistan, said Majid Ezzati, a professor of public health at Imperial College London who has studied life expectancy.
“The story does come down to young people,” he said. “It’s the overdose story, to a large extent.”
The data a year ago set off alarms when they showed that in 2015 the United States experienced its first decline in life expectancy since that 1993 dip. Experts pointed then to the “diseases of despair” — drug overdoses, suicides and alcoholism — as well as small increases in deaths from heart disease, strokes and diabetes.
The 2016 data shows that just three major causes of death are responsible: unintentional injuries, Alzheimer’s disease and suicides, with the bulk of the difference attributable to the 63,632 people who died of overdoses. That total was an increase of more than 11,000 over the 52,404 who died of the same cause in 2015.
Deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids more than doubled from the previous year. Heroin and prescription opioid overdose deaths also rose, but more modestly.
At the same time, a long decline in deaths from heart disease continued a six-year trend of leveling out, Anderson said. The small decrease last year in the rate of the nation’s leading cause of death no longer canceled the drug epidemic’s impact on life expectancy, Anderson said.
“The key factor is the increase in drug overdose deaths,” he said.
Overall, life expectancy dropped by a tenth of a year, from 78.7 to 78.6. It fell two-tenths of a year for men, who have much higher overdose death rates, from 76.3 to 76.1 years. Women’s life expectancy held steady at 81.1 years.
The number of people who fatally overdosed on fentanyl and other synthetic opiates soared from 9,580 in 2015 to 19,413 in 2016. Deaths due to heroin were up nearly 20 percent, and deaths from other opioid painkillers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone were up 14 percent.
“It’s even worse than it looks,” said Keith Humphreys, an addiction specialist at Stanford University. Given that research has shown official figures could be undercounting the true number of opioid deaths by 20 percent or more, “we could easily be at 50,000 opioid deaths last year,” he said. “This means that even if you ignored deaths from all other drugs, the opioid epidemic alone is deadlier than the AIDS epidemic at its peak.”
And while only limited provisional data is available for 2017, things don’t look any better.
“My guess is that when all of the data are in that the [2017] trend line will be at least as steep as for 2016, if not steeper,” Anderson said.
While drug mortality has been increasing among all age groups since 1999, it’s highest among those ages 25 to 54. Their fatal overdose rate for all drugs was roughly 35 cases per 100,000 individuals in 2016, compared with 12 deaths per 100,000 for people under 24 and six deaths per 100,000 among seniors 65 and older.
Men of all ages (26 deaths per 100,000) are twice as likely to die of a drug overdose as women (13 per 100,000). At the state level, West Virginia stands alone as the epicenter of overdose mortality, with 52 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2016. The next two states, New Hampshire and Ohio, each saw 39 deaths per 100,000 last year.
“This is no longer an opioid crisis,” said Patrick Kennedy, a former Rhode Island congressman who was a member of President Trump’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. “This is a moral crisis . . . we know how to answer this problem, but we can’t get around our own prejudices.”
Kennedy said medication-assisted therapies, including newer injectable drugs that block opioid cravings, are crucial to curbing the crisis. But there is “a bias in recovery circles” against such treatments, with the attitude that “you’re not supposed to take medications — that’s not called sobriety,” he said.
On July 31, the commission recommended Trump declare the crisis a national emergency, a designation that could have made emergency funding available. Instead, the president in October declared a public health emergency; he has since devoted little additional resources to the problem.
“He gave a fantastic speech,” Kennedy said of Trump. “But so far he’s all talk and no follow-through.” The political dithering cost 174 deaths a day from drug overdoses in 2016 — one every 8½ minutes, he said.
The 10 leading causes of death accounted for roughly three-fourths of the 2.7 million deaths last year. Rates for heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, strokes, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, and kidney disease fell, as did the nation’s overall death rate.
The 9.7 percent jump in unintentional injuries, which includes drug overdoses, motor vehicle crashes and other kinds of accidents, pushed that category into third place overall among causes of death. Alzheimer’s disease deaths rose by 3.1 percent and suicides increased by 1.5 percent.
Last year, some experts attributed the rising toll of Alzheimer’s disease to more frequent reporting of it. But Anderson said a second year of substantial increases probably indicates that more people are dying of the disease.
“As people avoid [cancer and heart disease], they’re going to survive long enough to die of Alzheimer’s,” he said.
The report also noted a small but statistically insignificant decline in infant mortality.
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Life expectancy is down for a second year. Drug overdoses are a big reason why.
Dec 21, 2017 | USA TODAY
By Kim Painter
Health researchers have some grim news for Americans: We are dying younger, and life expectancy is now down for the second straight year — something not seen in more than half a century.
One undeniable culprit is the opioid epidemic, which is cutting down young adults at alarming and increasing rates, the researchers say.
The numbers are “disturbing,” said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics. The branch is part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released two reports Thursday. One focused on all causes of death and the other zeroed in on drug overdose deaths.
A baby born in the United States in 2016 could expect to live 78.6 years, a decrease of more than a month from 2015 and more than two months from 2014. That’s the first two-year decline since 1962 and 1963 when spikes in flu deaths were likely to blame, Anderson said.
Before 2015, the last one-year decline was in 1993 and was attributed partly to the AIDS epidemic.
The declines are shockingly out of sync with a larger world in which lives are getting longer and healthier, public health experts said.
“The rest of the world is improving. The rest of the world is seeing large declines in mortality and large improvements in life expectancy,” said Peter Muennig, a professor of health policy and management at Columbia University. “That’s true in rich countries and middle-income countries and generally true even in lower-income countries.”
The difference between the U.S. and most of the rest of the world “is very stark,” said Jonathan Skinner, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College.
Newborns in 29 countries, including Japan, Australia and Spain, had life expectancies above 80 years in 2015, according to the World Health Organization. The average global life expectancy was 71.4 and rising, according to that agency’s most recent report.
So what’s going wrong with American health? At first glance, the new statistics present a paradox: Overall death rates for the nation actually fell in 2016, and so did deaths from seven of the 10 biggest killers, including cancer and heart disease. But life expectancy fell, too — because death rates ticked up in people under 65.
“Every time you lose a young person, you lose many more years of life than when you lose an old person,” Skinner says.
In fact, the report contains reassuring news for older Americans: If you make it to age 65, you can expect to live another 18 years if you are a man and 20.6 years if you are a woman. While most deaths still occur in older people, older people are dying at a slower rate.
But fewer people are making it to 65. And the biggest killers of young people include what statisticians call “unintentional injuries” — a category that covers drug overdoses, traffic crashes and falls. Deaths from those causes rose 9.7% in 2016.
A second CDC report makes it clear that drug overdoses are driving that wave of premature deaths, killing 63,600 people in 2016. The death rate from overdoses tripled from 6.1 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 19.8 in 2016.
And it spiked 21% from 2015 to 2016, the report says.
The fatal drugs increasingly include synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, along with heroin and other opioids, the report says.
The opioid epidemic is not the only explanation for falling life expectancy, Anderson said. Stalled progress on the nation’s biggest killer, heart disease, is playing a long-term role, despite a decline in deaths in 2016, he said.
Everything from bad roads to bad diets to unequal use of health care contributes to the death gap between the United States and other rich countries, Muennig said.
Suicides also increased in 2016, as did reported deaths from Alzheimer’s disease.
The overall decline in U.S. life expectancy cannot yet be called a trend, Anderson said: “I hope it’s just a two-year thing.” But, he said, the picture is unlikely to improve if the rise in drug deaths is not stopped.
“So my guess is that is that when all is said and done, we are probably going to see something similar for 2017.”
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State AGs Think Opioid Class Actions will be the Next ‘Big Tobacco’ Settlement (EDITORIAL)
Dec 20, 2017 | The National Law Review
By Clay T. Lee
At this point, it’s not really ground-breaking news that America has a problem with opioid drugs. By way of anecdote, when I became a federal prosecutor in 2011, the last heroin case that had been prosecuted in the Nashville U.S. Attorney’s office was in the early-1990s; although, to be fair, there were then lots of what we called “pill” cases involving opioids. When I left the office in 2017, at least half of the office’s major investigations were directly related to opioids–some pills, but mostly outright heroin or fentanyl/carfentanyl . In Nashville, Tennessee, OxyContin (which is an opioid-based painkiller) can be worth up to $1.25/milligram (mg). That means that just one 80mg OxyContin has a street value of $100. Price, is of course, a reflection of demand and demand, in this case, is driven by addiction.
That addiction is costing Americans a lot of money. The White House estimates that in 2015, over 33,000 Americans died from opioid related overdoses and that the economic cost of the opioid crisis was $504.0 billion, or 2.8% of GDP. To put that in some perspective, 2015 U.S. healthcare spending accounted for 17.7% of GDP, which means that Americans spent ~1/6 as much on opioids as they did on healthcare. State governments, often stuck footing the bill for indigent addicts because of increased law-enforcement activity and drug/medical treatment, are looking at the opioid manufacturers and distributors to help pay some of this cost.
In September, 41 state attorneys general announced serving subpoenas on 6 opioid manufacturers as part of a multi-state investigation into whether the companies engaged in any unlawful practices in the marketing and distribution of prescription opioids. The attorneys general are also looking into the distribution practices of 3 pharmaceutical distributors that account for the distribution of roughly 90% of the U.S. opioid supply. According the N.Y. State AG, opioid distributors alone make nearly $500 billion a year in revenue, but those numbers (perhaps as a result of the market response to the negative publicity generated by all of this) might not be as robust as they once were. Stock prices (many of these companies are privately held) for two of the manufacturers subject to the AG subpoenas have seen stocks nose dive by ~90% and ~75% respectively after both achieving all-time highs in 2015. Of course, the reason for those drops is likely non-singular, but the timing does perhaps signal the market’s appetite for risk.
So, obviously, if you are an AG looking to combat a public health disaster, going after the manufacturers of opioids (who, at least in 2015, had lots of money), much like the manufacturers of tobacco is pretty appealing. That said, there are some considerations that are likely to be major impediments in the effort to make this into a big tobacco settlement:
Prescription pills are prescribed by a medical doctor. Unlike the pack of cigarettes bought at the gas station from a clerk whose only responsibility is to verify age, opioids are, ostensibly, ordered by someone with years of advanced medical training. Pinning all the responsibility (or even just “most of it”) on manufacturers and distributors alone will be a challenge.
The success of the tobacco litigation was driven in no small part by the efforts of Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, the exceptionally well-connected Mississippi lawyer who spearheaded the class-action effort and coalesced all the states into letting him be the point-man for all negotiations. Much of what made Scruggs successful in that effort–1) the self-proclaimed advantage of home cookin‘; 2) the ability to wheel and deal in the Capital thanks to his access to then Senate Majority Leader, and brother-in-law, Trent Lott; 3) the close relationship with then Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore (who, coincidentally, is advocating for the opioid suit, this time as a plaintiff’s attorney)–is unlikely to fly in today’s world given the guttural uneasiness associated with any of the tactics utilized by Scruggs, now a convicted felon for attempting to bribe a judge in a post-Katrina litigation, and overall discomfort with anything that smacks of nepotism.
The stated goal of many of the proponents of the tobacco litigation was to put cigarette manufacturers out of business–this, of course, is a sentiment still voiced by some. But, no one is realistically seeking to litigate these pharmaceutical companies into the ground. While these companies manufacture opioids, they also research and manufacture drugs that help treat pediatric Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Simply, even if there is a settlement in all of this, the reality is that the settlement is likely to contemplate the ability of these companies to continue to research and manufacture the next wave of pharmaceutical improvements.
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Dec 21, 2017 | Journal Gazette (IN)
By Chad Ryan
Scott County, Indiana, became the face of the opioid crisis when an HIV outbreak drew national media attention in early 2015. The cost of the epidemic – in both lives and public expense – came sharply into focus.
As the toll continues to rise, Indiana should join other states and local government units – including Scott County – in filing lawsuits against the pharmaceutical companies responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic. The $246 billion settlement that came out of a similar suit against tobacco companies in the 1990s could be the result in this case, with much-needed funds to pay for treatment and costs that are now falling to taxpayers at large. Indiana has collected nearly $2.4 billion from the tobacco settlement since 1998.
The Allen County commissioners and Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry made the right decision in signing on to opioid lawsuits.
“You've got the people the distributors, the manufacturers sort of duped into believing these are nonaddictive things and once they become addicted, they find out it's really not a healthy environment and, consequently, they end up with things from HIV to drug abuse,” Commissioner Nelson Peters said.
Capt. Kevin Hunter of the Fort Wayne Police Department supports the city's lawsuit. Asked what any awards from the suit should be spent on locally, Hunter said, “We really need more treatment facilities and detox facilities and sober-living facilities here to address this crisis.
“Certainly, there would be some money that would repay the damage that's already been done, meaning all the overtime and other expenses that have been involved with this. But also creating remedies to solve this and help people that are already addicted.
“I really don't think we've seen the worst of it yet. ... Last year, we had 804 drug-poisoning cases. Those were people who overdosed who didn't die. There were 68 people who died last year from drug poisonings.
“This year, we're at 94 deaths, there are 50-plus pending toxicology reports, and we're at 1,130 non-fatal poisoning cases. And that's till the end of November.
“The numbers just keep going up.”
The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in May filed a lawsuit against five pharmaceutical manufacturers, alleging they promoted the use of opioids for pain treatment and created a drug epidemic. “We have to have a sense of urgency about this,” DeWine said in October. “We have to have a sense that this is a crisis in the state of Ohio. We have to target the people who created it.”
Ohio's lawsuit names Purdue Pharma, Endo Health Solutions, Teva Pharmaceutical, Johnson and Johnson, and Allergan. Allen County's suit targets 11 companies, although more might be added.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill announced in June he was working with a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general to evaluate whether manufacturers engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids. But his office this week wouldn't confirm or deny the state will be a plaintiff.
“As a matter of policy, we would not comment on any open investigations and we would not provide information on potential litigation decisions,” wrote Bill McCleery, deputy director of communications for the attorney general's office.
Indiana should sign on to a suit. Like Ohio, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Hampshire and other states, the damage here will be felt for decades to come. If a settlement is forthcoming or if the courts decide pharmaceutical companies are to blame, Hoosiers statewide should be in line for a share.
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Distributor reacts to opioid suit
Dec 21, 2017 | Tribune Chronicle (OH)
By Renee Fox
An association representing several entities named in a 270-page lawsuit filed against manufacturers, distributors and doctors involved in the opioid pain pill industry said their distributors have been unfairly pegged as “scapegoats.”
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance is a national trade association representing AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, several of 25 entities named in a lawsuit filed Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on behalf of the Trumbull County commissioners. The suit seeks a jury trial and cash to cover the county’s increased expenses caused by massive addiction to opioid-based pills and street drugs.
“As distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country. We are deeply engaged in the issue and are taking our own steps to be part of the solution, but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats,” said John Parker, senior vice president of the distribution alliance.
As distributors, the companies were not responsible for making, marketing, prescribing or dispensing opioids, Parker said.
“Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the safe and secure storage, transport and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians,” Parker said.
Much of the suit concentrates on marketing and sales practices that used misleading and wrong information about addiction to opioids like Oxycontin at Cepalon Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma — pain pill producers — to spread their products.
But, the suit states, the distributors had a responsibility to notice the the large amount of opioid pills being distributed in Trumbull County and a duty to say something.
So many opioid pain pills were distributed in Trumbull County between 2007 and 2015, there was more than enough for every man, woman and child to have more than one prescription, the suit states.
“The defendants knew or should have known that they were supplying vast amounts of dangerous drugs in Trumbull County that was already facing abuse, diversion, misuse and other problems associated with the opioid epidemic,” the suit states. “The defendants failed in their duty to take any action to prevent or reduce the distribution of these drugs. The defendants were in a unique position and had a duty to inspect, report or otherwise limit the manufacture and flow of these drugs to Trumbull County.”
The suit states the distributors instead sought “massive profits” while failing to report suspicious order reports. And in 2008, McKesson paid a $13.25 million fine to settle a similar complaint, the suit states.
In 2017, McKesson agreeed to pay a $150 million fine and suspended the sale of contrrolled substances from distribution centers in several states, the suit states. Cardinal paid a $34 million penalty in 2008 and $44 million in 2017 for failing to report suspicious orders.
“Rather than abide by (Drug Enforcement Agency) public safety statutes, the defendant distributors individually and collectively through trade groups in the industry, pressured the U.S. Department of Justice to ‘halt’ prosecutions and lobbied Congress to strip the DEA of its ability to immediately suspend distributor registrations,” the suit states.
The distributors were aware that they should have stopped or at least investigated the large amounts of opioids coming into Trumbull County, the suit states.
The trade association says the blame for the massive number of opioid prescriptions is mispalced.
“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 said. “We are ready to have a serious conversation about solving a complex problem and are eager to work with political leaders and all stakeholders in finding forward-looking solutions.”
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Lawsuits may seek hundreds of billions from opioid makers
Dec 21, 2017 | AXIOS
By Steve LeVine
The city of Detroit yesterday joined a torrent of an estimated 400 cities, counties and states suing opioid makers. Their main allegation: the companies are complicit in an addiction crisis that has killed about 37,000 people in the U.S. in just the 12-month period ending in May, or 103 per day.
Read this statistic: When you add in heroin, to which opioid addicts often turn because it's cheaper and often easier to obtain, the 12-month number of opioid deaths through May exceeds 53,000, meaning 145 people per day.
More suits will be filed this week in Illinois, and Paul Hanly, one of the leading lawyers for the plaintiffs, tells Axios that the number of cases will rise to almost 1,000 by this time next year, a deliberate strategy of driving the opioid-makers to the negotiating table. The suits, first filed in 2014, have vastly accelerated pace this year. In a settlement, Hanly said, "we're talking tens of billions if not hundreds of billions for a nationwide resolution." The lawyers' model is 1990s litigation that led to a $246 billion settlement with Big Tobacco under similar allegations.
Any settlement, Hanly said, is meant to reimburse localities for services like ambulance, hospitalization and, too often, morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries.
The lawsuits list Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, the principal opioid on the market; Janssen Pharmaceuticals; Endo and others. In September, Purdue filed motions to dismiss lawsuits filed by the states of Ohio and Wisconsin. If it wins, the company presumably will use that as a model for its defense.
In a statement given to Axios, Purdue said, "We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge. Although our products account for approximately 2% of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, we've distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed three of the first four FDA-approved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone. We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."
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Dec 21, 2017 | KOB (NBC)
By Albuquerque, NM
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515777?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: new mexico attorney general hector ba adding new defendants to his lawsuit against opioid companies. he believes the companies are responsible for the opioid epidemic our state. the new companies added to the lawsuit include.. noramco... which was once a subsidiary of johnson and johnson... mallinckrodt... and insy's therapeutics.
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Dec 21, 2017 | WFLD (FOX)
By Chicago, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515829?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: officials in five counties are stepping up to fight the opioid crisis. they will file a joint lawsuit against drug makers claiming they are fueling the epidemic. according to the daily herald, they are seeking to recoup some of the cost at the coroner's offices. more details will be announced today at 10:00 a.m. >>> life expectancy here in the u.s. has fallen for the second year in a row according to the national center for health statistics. a baby boy born in the u.s. today is expected to little 78 years. researchers say theup going opioid crisis and stalled progress in fighting heart disease are driving the decline. it is the second drop in a row since the years of 62 and 63.
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Dec 21, 2017 | CLTV (CLTV)
By Chicago, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515825?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: suburban counties are set to make an announcement today regarding lawsuits against companies that make opioid pain medications. kane county has initiated a lawsuit in an attempt to recover some of the costs to the sheriff's department, the coroner, and the health department that are caused by addiction . other cities, counties, and states are already suing opioid manufacturers. they allege the drug makers are complicit in the addiction crisis which has killed 37-thousand americans in just a 12-month period ending in may of this year.
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Dec 21, 2017 | KVRR (FOX)
By Fargo, ND
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515837?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: a string of overdose calls after a minnesota tribe sues drug companies over the opioid crisis. white earth reservation reports seven overdose related calls over the weekend with two resulting in deaths. white earth police department along with the mahnomen county sheriff's department are both encouraging users to seek medical help and treatment as soon as possible. drug companies sued over opioid cris leech lake band of ojibwe>> minnesota's leech lake band of ojibwe is suing pharmaceutical companies for the opioid crisis. more than 20 drug manufacturers and distributors are being sued by the tribe in federal court. in a 134-page complaint, the tribe says the distribution of prescription opioids has led to addiction, abuse, elevated crime levels and deaths. the tribe is seeking a jury trial, unspecified monetary damages and a judgment declaring that the drug companies have created a "public nuisance.
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Dec 21, 2017 | WSBTD (IN)
By South Bend, IN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515843?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: several counties and cities in michigan... filing lawsuit against 21-drug companies, distributors, and pharmacies they claim the companies are responsible for fueling the national opioid empidemic... and costing taxpayers money. the suit also claims the companies misled the f-d-a about the dangers of prescription painkillers.
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Dec 21, 2017 | WYFXLD (FOX)
By Youngstown, OH
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515848?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: lawsuit-vo in trumbull county -- commissioners filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies. the lawsuit is similar to one filed by ohio attorney general mike dewine - seeking damages for the opioid epidemic. the lawsuit alleges opioid companies were deceptive in their marketing. they say companies knew drugs like oxycontin and percocet were addictive... but misrepresented those risks to encourage health professionals to prescribe the drugs.
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Dec 21, 2017 | KIRO (CBS)
By Seattle, WA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515891?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript:federal health researchers have some grim news: americans are dying younger - and the culprit is the 'opioid epidemic'.kiro 7's jacqueline fell is live in our washington d-c bureau - breaking down new government data.jackie, deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed last year. drug overdose deaths jumped 21- percent in 2016 -- new government figures show more than 63-thousand people died from drugs. for the first time, the powerful painkiller fentanyl and similar drugs played a bigger role in the deaths than any other legal or illegal drug-- surpassing prescription pain pills and heroin.because of that - the c-d-c lowered americans life expectancy for the second straight year - that hasn't happened in more than 50-years.researchers say the opioid epidemic is killing young adults at alarming and increasing rates.pierce county is joining a number of local governments suing opioidmanufacturers.the county council just voted to join 60 others in the federal lawsuit against purdue pharma --the makers of oxycotin -- and other drug companies.the suit claims the companies helped create the epidemic by pushing opioids on doctors and patients -- without giving real warnings about the dangers. purdue pharma says its federally-approved products accounted for just 2 percent of opioid prescriptions.i've been reporting on the opioid epidemic for more than a year - health officials tell me preliminary 2017 numbers show the rise in overdose deaths
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Dec 21, 2017 | KFOX (FOX)
By El Paso, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515896?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: there are three pharmaceutical companies that have been added to a lawsuit claiming that the companies have contributed to new mexico's opioidcrisis. the state's attorney general's office made the announcement yesterday. the companies joined five of the largest opioid manufacturers and three major distributers named inthe suit. it accuses the manufacturers of pushing the highly addictive drugs and distributers of failing to monitor and investigate suspicious orders.
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Dec 21, 2017 | WZTV (FOX)
By Nashville, TN
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515900?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript:metro council is now moving forward on a resolution that would allow the city to sue opioid manufacturers. you know, that's a big topic right now. opioid and his how do we get them under control? last year, more than 1600 people in the state of tennessee died from opioid overdoses. tennessee among 40 states already looking to hold these companies accountable for the opioid etch i december i think.
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Dec 21, 2017 | WAND (NBC)
By Champaign, IL
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31515908?token=4fe8aadb-c10c-4a29-8160-95eeb63a7b91
Rough Transcript: champaign county is suing opioid manufac turers. joining counties acros the state--the lawsuit claims drug makers down played how addictive opioids are. a board held a unanimous vote tuesday to sue. they want the drug companies to pay the county for the expenses caused by the opioidepidemic. "so it can be anything from the coroner's office and the inability to preform autopsies, nalaxone and the drugs given to overdose patients, health care, insurance cost. internally lost productivity and lost time to the county law enforcement jails. it's kind of a - every layer that you peel back the more impact that you find." lawyers say it could be months... even years.. before this case makes it to trial.
New York Times - Opioid Litigation
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