MARTINSBURG ä Berkeley County Council and Jefferson County Commission have joined other groups in the state in filing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors acusing them of illegally marketing and distributing opioids that led to the states epidemic.
Attorney Stephen Skinner, of Skinner Law Firm in Charles Town, filed the lawsuits on behalf of the counties, according to a press release from his office.
In May, the Berkeley County Council voted 3-2 to engage in the opioid litigation aimed at pharmaceutical drug distributors that are accuesd of contributing to the community's heroin epidemic.
The release said, The suit alleges that OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, and others, embarked on a deceptive marketing campaign to convince …show more content…
Distributors, also named in the lawsuits for violating federal and state law, include Amerisourcebergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
The counties filed similar laswsuits as a dozen other West Virginia communities including Kanawha and Lincoln counties and the city of Huntington, according to published reports.
The lawsuits bring attention to many facts describing the rise in opioid drug use in these counties.
Between 2007 and 2012, Berkeley County saw 150 total opioid-related overdoses with an overdose rate of 14.4 per 10,000 people, according to the lawsuit.
Between 2007 and 2012, Jefferson County saw 57 total opioid-related overdoses with an overdose rate of 10.6 per 10,000 people, the lawsuit said.
Skinner Law Firm has agreed to take on the case at no expense, but would net 25 percent of the proceeds if the lawsuit is successful, Norwood Bentley, the Berkeley County Council's attorney previously told The Journal, when deciding whether to persue the lawsuit.
The percentage would increase in 5 percent increments should the case become part of mass litigation or take more time due to a possible appeal, he