JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – Seven counties in Oregon are joined by 400 other jurisdictions filing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
The lawsuit is against 19 pharmaceutical manufacturers and the counties are seeking damages based on the opioid epidemic.
Right now the lawsuit is pending in federal court and it alleges that, “the defendants have turned wounded heroes into addicts, imperiled the lives of first-responders, made wives widows and parents childless, and strained the limited financial resources of local governments, including Plaintiff counties.”
Wally Hicks from the Josephine County Legal Counsel said the county was invited to join the suit because of the epidemic.
“The tax payers have had to shoulder a huge burden because of abuses by the main pharmaceutical manufactures,” Hicks said.
The other counties in Oregon involved in the suit include Jackson, Clackamas, Lane, Washington, Clatsop, and Yamhill.
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