Iowa counties join lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

Two Iowa counties have joined a federal lawsuit brought by more than 100 counties in eight states against the manufacturers of pharmaceutical opioid drugs.

Monroe County in southeast Iowa and Sioux County in the northwest have signed on to the lawsuit filed by Wisconsin-based Crueger Dickinson law firm.

The firm is suing five pharmaceutical companies and their subsidiaries for allegedly downplaying the risks of opioids, aggressively marketing their use to physicians to treat chronic pain and failing to report or investigate "suspicious orders of prescription opiates."

"These companies engaged in a false marketing campaign about the non-addictive nature of opioids for long-term use, and therefore created what we now know as the opioid epidemic," said attorney Erin Dickinson.

County governments have faced significant costs tied to the opioid crisis, including in law enforcement, criminal justice, autopsies and emergency medical services, Dickinson said. The lawsuit seeks to recoup those costs.

Additional Iowa counties could join the lawsuit in the coming weeks.

The Iowa State Association of Counties unanimously passed a resolution last month encouraging its member counties "to immediately support" the litigation. The Iowa State Association of Counties hopes all 99 of Iowa's counties sign on to "present a united front at the federal level," the resolution says.

Dallas County supervisors considered the issue Tuesday, but did not take any action.

While joining the litigation does not guarantee a settlement, having county boards of supervisors pass resolutions would help raise awareness of the epidemic at the local level, said Bill Peterson, executive director of the Iowa State Association of Counties.

"If nothing else, if it did change prescribing techniques by physicians and it did make citizens more aware of the dangers of long-term use of opioids, then that in itself would have a positive benefit in all of our communities," he said.

Prescription and illicit opioids are the main driver of drug overdose deaths nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control, opioids contributed to 33,091 deaths in 2015. Opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999.

In Iowa, 180 people died of opioid-related causes last year, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Health care facilities in the state admitted 2,274 patients for opioid treatment. Those admissions have more than tripled since 2005.

President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in October.

The Dallas County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held a lengthy discussion to consider joining the lawsuit. The three-member board ultimately decided to make a decision at a later date.

Dallas County Attorney Wayne Reisetter said the county does not readily keep statistics that detail the impact of the opioid crisis in Iowa's fastest growing county. But he said there is money tied up in criminal prosecution, rehabilitation and incarceration, among other county services, for those addicted to opioids. For example, counties are required to pay for autopsies if a death is opioid-related and law enforcement officers use the drug-antidote naloxone.

"As I thought about it, I was thinking, 'well that occurs really in big cities and not here.' But frankly ... we do have that problem here, there is a cost," Reisetter said. "Your tax dollars are helping fund dealing with results of an opioid crisis."

Counties that do sign on to the lawsuit will work with Dickinson's team to outline specific damages and costs associated with opioid use.

There are no out-of-pocket costs to Iowa counties who join the litigation. Lawyers will be awarded a portion of the settlement, should the lawsuit be successful.

More:

Opioid prescriptions should be ordered with more care, state says

Opioid epidemic is tragically personal for Iowa public-health expert

The federal lawsuit on Tuesday was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio, where all states will argue their case as one entity. Named as plaintiffs in the suit are: Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, and Endo Pharmaceuticals.

In September, a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general, including Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, jointly filed subpoenas to major opioid distributors and manufacturers to investigate how prescription drugs are marketed and distributed.

Some attorneys general have broken from that coalition and have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies on behalf of their states. Montana filed a federal lawsuit on Monday.

According to USA TODAY, Purdue Pharma has responded to the allegations in a prepared statement that says: "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."