Palm Beach County may sue drugmakers over opiods

Palm Beach County is considering joining other states, cities and counties that have filed lawsuits accusing drug companies of misleading patients and doctors about the dangers of prescription pain medication.

Vice Mayor Melissa McKinlay said she is requesting a review by the county’s legal staff.

“Wewere able to sue tobacco companies for deceptive marketing,” McKinlay said. “To me, this is just as bad.”

Palm Beach County officials responded to nearly 5,000 overdose calls last year and recorded nearly 600 deaths. Commissioners are allocating $3 million to try to lower the overdose death toll.

CountyAttorney Denise Nieman said her staff will undertake the review and is “exploring all options.”

Representatives of drugmakers have denied wrongdoing. In response to lawsuits, they said they have taken steps to prevent pain medication from being diverted into the black market. They argue it will take a collaborative effort of the drug industry, doctors and government to address the epidemic.

Delray Beach — which has emerged as a recovery capital for South Florida’s booming treatment industry — also is considering legal action, Mayor Cary Glickstein said.

The city will hear a presentation July18 fromRobbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, a firm thatwon a $7 billion settlement from Enron in 2008.

Glickstein estimates Delray spent$3 million last year responding to about 1,600 overdose calls. He said the suit would allege that misleading marketing by drug companies contributed to the explosion in overdoses in Delray Beach.

“There are actual damages borne by taxpayers," he said. “We are subsidizing negligence on the part of pharmaceutical companies."

At least two dozen states, cities and counties have filed lawsuits against drug companies, including attorneys general in Ohio, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared the opioid epidemic to be a public health emergency, but the state has not sued drug companies.

Whitney Ray, a spokesman for Attorney General Pam Bondi, declined to comment on whether the state is considering legal action. Ray said he could not comment because Bondi is participating in an ongoing multistate investigation involving opioid manufacturers.

Ohio’s lawsuit seeks to recover money spent on the pain medication through Medicaid, along with state dollars devoted to addiction treatment.

In the 1990s, 46 attorneys general joined forces to recoup tobacco-related health care costs. In 1998, tobacco companies agreed to pay $200 billion to states.

sswisher@sunsentinel.com