Local Governments vs. Big Pharma: A New Wave of Litigation Alleges Liability For the Opioid Epidemic
By Drew Erteschik,[1] J.M. Durnovich and Cosmo Zinkow
Introduction
The opioid epidemic is an American tragedy. It is difficult to convey the breadth of the epidemic with a single statistic, but let this sink in: For every person killed by gun violence, three people will die from an opioid overdose.[2]
As the epidemic worsens, local governments are scrambling for solutions. They are also scrambling to keep up with the costs—the public health, law enforcement, public employment, and other costs that the opioid crisis has left on their doorstep. With insufficient financial assistance from Congress and state legislatures to cover these costs, local governments are turning to the courts.
Across the nation, cities and counties are suing opioid drugmakers and distributors. These lawsuits seek to hold drug companies accountable—at least in part—for the opioid epidemic. No North Carolina city or county has filed a lawsuit of this kind yet, but they surely will soon.
The authors of this article—two litigators and their future colleague—would like to explore this litigation in three parts:
The first part gives a brief overview of the costs of the opioid epidemic on North Carolina and its local governments. The second part discusses state and local government litigation against drug companies in other states—essentially a preview of what future litigation in North Carolina might look like. The third part gives the authors’ predictions for the litigation, along with recently released information about a number of large settlements.