Indianapolis-based attorneys retained by Marshall County, Ind., recently filed a 165-page lawsuit against more than 20 drugmakers and distributors for the companies' alleged roles in facilitating the overuse of opioids, according to a report published Sunday by the South Bend Tribune.
The lawsuit alleges the companies created a false perception among providers and patients about the safety of opioid use to generate "blockbuster profits."
"Manufacturer defendants knew that to increase their profits from the sale of opioids they would need to convince doctors and patients that long-term opioid therapy was safe and effective," the lawsuit says, according to the report.
The lawsuit seeks to recoup county funds expended responding to the crisis. The county saw one opioid-related fatal overdose in 2015, 13 such overdoses in 2016 and 16 in 2017.
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