The lawsuit names 23 defendants who testified before Congress that certain opioid products were not addictive. No local physicians are named in the suit.
“The drug companies and the distributors who we are suing knew that these drugs were addictive, and they kept pumping them into the mainstream of these small towns and counties,” Bob Peirce Jr., an attorney with the Pittsburgh-based Robert Pierce and Associates law firm representing the county, told CBS Pittsburgh.
Mr. Pierce said the opioid epidemic, which can be quantified in terms of overtime and emergency medical responses, has likely costed Pennsylavania counties millions of dollars.
Thirteen people die of a drug overdose every day in Pennsylvania, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
More articles on opioids:
Opioid crisis most important health issue in state, say West Virginians
35% of opioid-related adverse events in hospitals linked to medication administration
Trump to declare opioid crisis a national emergency next week
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