Racine County Joins Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Racine County has just become the 29th Wisconsin county to join a lawsuit against the manufacturers of opioid painkillers. The Racine County Board approved joining the suit on Tuesday night.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court against a raft of pharmaceutical companies, claims that the opioid epidemic that is gripping communities and exhausting government resources is caused "in part by opioid manufacturers’ deceptive marketing tactics about the safety and efficacy of long-term opioid use."

According to the suit, "many addicts, finding painkillers too expensive or too difficult to obtain, have turned to heroin. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, four out of five people who try heroin today started with prescription painkillers."

Common prescription painkillers such as Opana ER, Opana, Percodan, Percocet, OxyContin, Oxycodone, are all listed in the suit.

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In a two-year period, 1,824 Wisconsinites died as a result of an opioid overdose, the suit stated.

"By filing this lawsuit, Racine County seeks to hold these companies accountable for their role in the scourge that’s infiltrated our community," County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said in a prepared statement. "Opioid addiction has caused incredible damage for families across Racine County, and County resources are stretched thin trying to address this devastating crisis.”

The Racine County Medical Examiner’s Office reports 35 confirmed deaths in 2017 are related to drug overdoses, with another 6 pending cases that are likely overdoses, according to county officials.

"We will never be able to bring back those who lost their lives," Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne said.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the millions of dollars Wisconsin counties spend each year on this issue.

The manufacturers named in the suit include Endo Health Solutions, Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and subsidiaries of the companies, along with individual physicians.

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