Middletown To Sue Opioid Drug Manufacturers: Mayor

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The City of Middletown will file a lawsuit to hold opioid drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for the damages the city has suffered in combatting the opioid epidemic, Mayor Daniel Drew announced on Thursday. In 2017 alone, 17 Middletown residents died of overdoses involving opioids, according to Drew.

“This is the same drug that is found in heroin and the only difference is that the drug dealers here are big pharma companies,” Drew said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. “Just because they have the resources to try to legitimize and defend their distribution does not mean they have the right to do so.”

According to the city’s suit, “big pharma manufacturers knew that they were leading people into the gripping disease of addiction,” the press release states. “And the distributors knew they were pumping opioids into the city far in excess of any legitimate medical need.”

The City of Middletown has retained the law firm of Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP to represent it in this litigation. Scott+Scott is an international law firm headquartered in Connecticut with additional offices in New York, Ohio, California, and London, England. Scott+Scott is at the forefront of the war on opioids here in Connecticut, according to the press release.

Image via Shutterstock