Houghton County Invited To Join Lawsuit Against Drug Companies

A mass-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies is in the works and Houghton County is being invited to take part.

Attorneys from The Sam Bernstein Law Firm and Weitz & Luxenberg spoke to the County Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Dozens of municipalities have already agreed to retain the services of a consortium of law firms as they try to hold drug manufactures and distributors accountable for the opioid epidemic plaguing communities today.

Attorney Mark Bernstein explained that there are as many as 500 individual lawsuits being filed nationwide on behalf of local municipalities.

A mass-action lawsuit differs from a class-action lawsuit in that the cases will not be lumped together in quite the same way, but each case will be decided using select bellwether cases representative of the whole.

Attorney Paul Novak told the board that in Houghton County for every 100 people, there are 80 prescriptions for opioids written every year.

In addition to the costs associated with the deaths of residents due to opioid overdoses, counties are also bearing the cost of increased law enforcement, judicial processing, incarceration and medical care of addicts because of the widespread availability of these drug products.

The lawsuit targets the drug manufactures, wholesalers and distributers for compensation for these costs so they do not fall solely on the local taxpayer.

The case seeks economic damages bourn by the municipalities as well as injunctive relief to halt the diversion and misuse of the drugs and irresponsible marketing practices of the drug companies.

Bernstein stated there is nothing wrong with the opioids themselves, if they are being prescribed and used in the manner of which they were intended.  “Humans who take this drug for eight days, 13 percent of them are still taking it a year later.  They may be taking it from a prescription from a doctor, but, more likely, they are finding this drug on the black market and that just indicates the potency of  this drug, which we allege, and it’s becoming common knowledge, were terribly misrepresented by the manufacturers and the distribution companies who were falling over themselves to sell and market this product, given the profits that they were generating,” Bernstein said.

To retain their services, the law firms would advance the costs of the litigation and deduct those fees from any award, with 70 percent of the award going to Houghton County.

Board Chair Al Koskela responded that the litigation did not appear to help with the county jail being overpopulated with drug addicts but instead would “fleece” the drug companies causing patients who legitimately need the pain medication to have to pay more.

Koskela explained that he uses the term “fleece” when you are getting something without having to work for it.

As of last night, Chippewa County, Delta County, Baraga County, Dickinson County and the cities of Iron Mountain and Escanaba have reportedly agreed to join the lawsuit with as many as ten more clients added by the end of the week, according to Bernstein.

The Houghton County Board tabled any decision on the matter until the next meeting.