Putnam Joins Suit Against Big Pharma Over Opioids

Putnam County has joined the New York Opioid Cost Recovery litigation. The lawsuit is against the pharmaceutical companies and distributors for fraudulent and negligent practices they engaged in, which caused immeasurable harm to residents and taxpayers. The news was greeted with dismay by industry representatives.

The resolution was passed by the Putnam County Legislature in November and signed by County Executive MaryEllen Odell in December.

“Heroin and opioid use is a major public health and safety crisis and the costs to our community is not limited to pain and suffering of the individuals and families impacted,” said Odell in a statement at the time. “Unfortunately, there is also a taxpayer impact including massive resources used in county public health, law enforcement, court system, mental health and social services, coroner and medical examiner and many other programs and services. The County has significant damages and we will aggressively pursue those damages through litigation.”

The goal of the litigation would be to fully compensate Putnam County for unnecessary cost incurred because of prescription opioid abuse, including workplace costs relative to loss of productivity, healthcare costs such as abuse treatment and criminal justice costs.

John Parker, SVP of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, issued this statement in response:

“As distributors, we understand the tragic impact the opioid epidemic has on communities across the country. We are deeply engaged in the issue and are taking our own steps to be part of the solution – but we aren’t willing to be scapegoats.

“Distributors are logistics companies that arrange for the safe and secure storage, transport, and delivery of medicines from manufacturers to pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and others based on prescriptions from licensed physicians. We don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.

“Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated.

“We are ready to have a serious conversation about solving a complex problem and are eager to work with political leaders and all stakeholders in finding forward-looking solutions.”

Heroin and opiates are now the leading cause of accidental death in New York State, outnumbering homicides, county officials said. In fact, in the past three years, over 40 fatal opioid overdoses were reported in Putnam County.

The number of drug-related arrests have gone up also from 339 in 2016 to 456 as of early December 2017, according to the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office.

The connection between prescription drugs and heroin stems from the abuse of prescription opioid pain killers, and is directly related to heroin’s growth in popularity with young people: these pills are the doorway to heroin abuse, county officials said.

“Filing a lawsuit also allows the County to be in the driver’s seat and control its own destiny,” Odell said. “We have the power to determine whether to accept a settlement and how any recovery would be distributed, not the State.”

Putnam County will work with the NYS Attorney General’s Office to ensure that the county’s costs are included in any proposed settlement. The Attorney General’s Office is part of a multi-state negotiating team investigating the manufacturers and distributor practices.

The law firm of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC will represent Putnam County’s interests in the New York Opioid Cost Recovery litigation.

PHOTO/ Putnam County Executive's Office