Quincy to take on opioid crisis, big pharma in courtroom

The city of Quincy is opening a new front in battling the opioid crisis, taking big pharma to court.

“We are losing an entire generation to this issue; it’s insane,” Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch told the Herald. “We had been attacking this for the past 10 years in every possible way. We have spent a lot of time on education and enforcement and treatment and the numbers continue to be daunting.”

Koch said the idea of a lawsuit came up at a recent meeting, and the city contacted the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Motley Rice LLC, which represents about a dozen cities and towns as well as four states in similar litigation around the country.

City officials will work in the coming weeks to assess how much money has been spent combating the opioid crisis before a decision is made about which pharmaceutical companies will be named as defendants and where the case will be filed, Koch said.

Motley Rice is not charging the city, and would only take a percentage of any money recovered in a trial or settlement.

“We felt there is precedent for this with the tobacco issue,” Koch said. “We have nothing to lose. At the very minimum, we are putting them on notice that they accept some responsibility in this.”

Motley Rice attorney Linda Singer said the suit will focus on both manufacturers and distributors of opioids, and damages sought would depend on how much Quincy is spending to fight the epidemic.

“The complaints allege drug companies misrepresented the risk of opioids and particularly the risk of patients becoming addicted to them,” Singer said. “Unlike tobacco, it’s not just a public health issue, it’s law enforcement and social services.”

“I would say the lawsuits are a very responsible measure,” said Framingham attorney and Board of Health member Michael Hugo, who is not involved in the suit. “These cases could be very strong. I think we will see some shocking results.”