After OD Fatalities Spike, Bucks Co. Sues Drug Companies

Bucks County has filed a lawsuit against major manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids in an attempt to stop the flood of addictive medications into the community, and recoup costs associated with the crisis.

The 159-page civil complaint was filed Tuesday in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. It seeks an undetermined amount of compensatory and punitive damages from 17 corporate defendants and one individual the county says is responsible for the opioid epidemic locally and across the nation. There were 232 overdose fatalities in Bucks County in 2017 — an 89 percent increase over 2015.

Defendants include Purdue Pharma, creator of OxyContin, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals, among others. Three corporate distributors are also listed as defendants.

The sole individual defendant is John Kapoor, founder and former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, Inc., manufacturer of Subsys, a fentanyl-based spray medication.

The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturer defendants misled the public about the dangers of prescription opioids, and that the defendants disregarded their obligation to monitor responsible opioid distribution.

The suit was announced Tuesday during a press conference attended by Bucks County Commissioners and local law enforcement. “We want to take a stand against this epidemic, and this scourge on our families," County Commissioners Chairman Robert G. Loughery said during the press conference.

The law firm Boni, Zack & Snyder is acting as local counsel in the lawsuit. “Just as nearly every citizen has been touched by the opioid epidemic, virtually every county office has been harmed and damaged,” said attorney Joshua D. Snyder of Boni, Zack & Snyder, based in Bala Cynwyd.

Snyder’s firm is working with by Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law, a national firm representing government entities in similar litigation in several states.

According to Loughery, the attorneys are working on a contingency basis, which means the county is not being charged up-front but lawyers will be paid a percentage of any damages awarded to the county.

“A pharmaceutical manufacturer should never place its desire for profits above the health and well-being of its customers,” the complaint states.

According to county officials, financial hardships associated with the epidemic include:

• A $20 million prison expansion to accommodate the exploding inmate population, much of it addiction-related
• $4 million in annual outsourcing costs to house Bucks County inmates in other prisons because of addiction-fueled overcrowding
• Hiring two additional Coroner’s Office employees to handle the influx of opioid-related deaths, and paying for burial of a significant number of unclaimed corpses of overdose victims
• Creation of a six-detective, $900,000-per-year Drug Strike Force by the District Attorney’s Office to help fight the opioid crisis
• A 66.5 percent increase in opioid-related 911 emergency calls since 2012, with each call taking about 30 minutes to resolve, at a cost of about $30 per hour
• Rising county insurance payments resulting from unwarranted and potentially dangerous chronic opioid therapy for employees, retirees and dependents – and frequent ensuing payments for addiction-related treatment

Other financial impacts include NARCAN purchases and training, increased law enforcement costs, diversion of county employees to deal with opioid-related issues, and decreased productivity of county workers afflicted with addiction-related issues or who are dealing with loved ones with addictions.

You can read the full complaint by clicking here.