By BARBARA GREEN
Montague County was asked to consider joining in a nationwide consolidated lawsuit against opioid drug manufacturers and distributors or pursue its own lawsuit within the state during Monday’s commissioner’s court meeting.
Members of the court heard from two law firms pursuing these suits in response to the nationwide opioid addition crisis sweeping the nation. No action was taken by the court in possible participation in a lawsuit.
Opioid drugs are primarily used for pain management and originally were carefully prescribed to cancer patients and in hospice care. However, in the last decade they have been prescribe more commonly for other types of pain management such as following surgery.
U.S. deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed 21 percent last year. According to the Center for Disease Control two-thirds of last year’s drug deaths, bout 42,000, involved opioids, a category that includes heroin, methadone, prescription pain pills like OxyContin and fentanyl.
Fatal overdoses that involved fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs doubled in one year to more than 190,000 mostly from illegally-made pills or powder, which is often mixed with heroin or other drugs.
Heroin was tied to 15,500 deaths and prescription painkills to 14,500 deaths. The CDC reports the balance of the overdose deaths involved sedatives, cocaine and methamphetamines. More than one drug is often involved in an overdose death.
Two attorneys made presentations from two separate firms. Matthew Vinson spoke for Ferrer, Poirot, Wansbrough of Dallas explaining the firm is involved with litigation against the producers of these powerful pain meds. Both firms operate on a contingency basis fronting all costs until a settlement is attained.
Read the full story in the mid-week News.