Broward to sue firms over opioids
The Broward commission on Tuesday ordered the county attorney to pursue a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies to recoup the costs of treating opioid addicts.
Other cities and counties in South Florida are considering similar lawsuits. Palm Beach County decided to pursue a suit last week. The suits would be similar to lawsuits against tobacco companies, which were successfully sued for offering a product that they knew was dangerous.
The commission agreed to let County Attorney Drew Meyers pick a legal team to pursue a lawsuit. Meyers’ final picks will be ranked and then presented to commissioners at their next meeting, Jan. 9.
Meyers said Broward has potentially seen losses as an employer and a service provider to county residents.
“There is a lot of potential upside that is difficult to quantify in terms of financial benefits,” he said.
Commissioners voted 7-1, with one abstention, to move forward with selecting a legal team to pursue a lawsuit.
Before a crackdown seven years ago, Florida was known as the nation’s pill mill capital, where doctors handed out oxycodone and other powerful painkillers like candy at storefront clinics. In 2010, 98 of the top 100 opioid-prescribing physicians were in Florida, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Now, medical examiners are seeing unprecedented overdose deaths caused by heroin and ultrapotent synthetic versions of the drug.
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.
Osceola County filed Florida’s first county-level opioid lawsuit. Delray Beach hired San Diegobased law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, whose attorneys helped to secure a $7 billion settlement against Enron in 2008.
The city intends to file its lawsuit by the end of this year, Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein said.
Broward commissioners had harsh words for drug companies that might have known their medications were more addictive than they let on.
“It’s costing upwards of $800 billion to a trillion dollars nationally, so there is a fiscal impact,” said Commissioner Chip LaMarca. “If someone knew about this, they should pay more than dearly. They should pay financially and they should pay criminally.”
Commissioners were also optimistic about the success of such a lawsuit.
“I think this is going to be extremely successful litigation nationwide as we move forward with this,” said Commissioner Michael Udine.