County to sue opioid drug makers
Lawsuit claims doctors, public misled about dangers
TROY, N.Y. » Rensselaer County joined a growing list of counties Tuesday in agreeing to sue the manufacturers and distributors of opioid painkillers that have fueled a nationwide addiction crisis.
At its monthly meeting, the county Legislature unanimously agreed to retain the New York City law firm of Napoli Shkolnik to represent the county at no cost to county taxpayers in a lawsuit alleging drugmakers and distributors lied to doctors about the possibility and dangers of addiction in marketing opiod medications as a painkiller. Napoli Shkolnik already represents Nassau County in a similar lawsuit.
“We have seen the destruction caused by this national epidemic in our own backyard,” said Legislator Kelly Hoffman. “We are taking action against those who have caused and profited from this destruction.”
“This is just following along with what other counties are doing, and I think this is a complete win for us,” added Minority Leader Peter Grimm. “It certainly addresses the problem that’s happening not just in our area, but across the country.”
County Executive Kathleen Jimino endorsed joining Schenectady and Albany counties in seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for the public cost of dealing with the resulting crisis that has engulfed the nation. Jimino pointed out the county also has been pushing other initiatives, such as creating and participating in coalitions, in an attempt to help fight the opioid epidemic.
“The opioid addiction crisis is wreaking havoc across our communities, and this lawsuit seeks to hold accountable those pharmaceutical companies that misled doctors and patients into thinking that these medications were not addictive and thus could be widely used,” said Jimino. “The result of their actions has led many to life-threatening health situations that affect not only the individual caught up in addiction but their families and entire communities. Our effort seeks to bring about the resources necessary to help those currently suffering from the disease of addiction, as well as prevent the crisis from growing even farther.”
County officials said the lawsuit will seek to recover added costs for such services as substance abuse programs, Medicaid-funded treatment and law enforcement.
“We cannot replace the lives that have been
lost, but we can and must do everything in our power to fight this epidemic, educate our communities about the dangers of opioids and go after those who have profited from this epidemic,”
said Legislator Robert Loveridge, whose district includes Averill Park, which has been especially hardhit by the crisis.
Legislator Todd Tesman pointed out the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 259 million opiod prescriptions were written in 2012 alone.
“That’s enough to give every adult in America a bottle of pills,” he said. “No one with an ounce of common
sense could believe the pharmaceutical industry didn’t know what it was doing.”