County joins opioids suit vs. drug makers

KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County has joined the legal battle against pharmaceutical companies that counties say were dishonest about the effects of long-term opioid use.

Ulster’s lawsuit was filed Thursday by the law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, which also is representing Dutchess, Greene, Orange and Sullivan counties.

The suit alleges the defendant companies “sought to create a false perception in the minds of physicians, patients, health care providers and health care payors that using opioids to treat chronic pain was safe for most patients and that the drugs’ benefits outweighed the risks.”

Ulster County Executive Michael Hein said his county has witnessed the devastating effects of opioid abuse first hand.

“If you stood in my shoes and been to funerals and held mothers and fathers in your arms because they are putting their child in the ground, then you would know fully that what is happening here with opioids, and the next progression that moves onto heroin that is directly tied to this kind of tragedy,” Hein said. “It is specifically and a direct result of large pharmaceutical companies turning a blind eye to science and to what they knew was going to be the end result of flooding the market with a huge amount of opioidbased pain medication.”

Earlier this week, Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith said the county’s recent reduced ranking in what are known as “health outcomes” was largely attributable to a surge in opioidrelated deaths.