Worcester files suit against opioid makers
Photo/Grant Welker
Worcester City Hall. The city argues that it has suffered costs because of the opioid epidemic, and is suing drug manufacturers and distributors.
Worcester has filed a lawsuit against makers of opioid drugs the city argues have contributed to a deadly epidemic in recent years.
The city first said in February it intended to sue drugmakers, and on Monday it said it has now done so.
The city said in a statement its lawsuit will hold opioid drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for damages the city has suffered and will continue to suffer while dealing with the opioid epidemic.
In each of the last three years, more than 100 people have died in Worcester of an opioid overdose, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Of those people, the number of Worcester residents who have overdosed is smaller — compared to out-of-town visitors — but has exceeded 70 people a year in the past three years. Statewide, nearly 1,900 died of opioid overdoses last year, according to the latest state data.
Worcester's complaint alleges prescription opioids are a gateway drug to heroin, based on what the city says is data showing approximately 80 percent of heroin users started with prescription opioids.
"The drug companies placed profits above the health and well-being of their customers and communities in using unethical and unlawful methods to market and distribute opioids," the city said in a statement. "Their improper practices in turn created a population addicted to opioids, who then turned to heroin available on the black market."
Worcester said it expects to show in court how it has incurred increased costs for first responders, the opioid antidote Narcan, employee health insurance claims, and creating addiction treatment programs.
“We’ve tirelessly undertaken outreach initiatives designed to combat the opioid crisis created by the defendants’ unlawful conduct,” City Manager Edward Augustus said in a statement. “The city is seeking damages, not just to be reimbursed for its expenses, but also to halt the unlawful practices and find a way to end the opioid-heroin connection that has cost so many lives and created so much hardship.”
Eight manufacturers are listed as defendants: Purdue Pharma, Janssen, Endo, Actavis, Mallinckrodt, Teva, Collegium and Insys.
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