Kane Co. to research possible opioid drugmaker lawsuit
Kane County officials will spend the next month investigating the costs the county incurs from local opioid addiction before deciding if it will sue drug manufacturers to recoup that bill.
County board members approved the study and signaled their interest Tuesday in learning more about the benefits of suing opioid manufacturers.
Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon's office will lead the research project. McMahon will use the information to craft his recommendation about whether pursuing the litigation is worth the time and effort. The sheriff, health department and coroner's office will help determine the county's opioid costs.
A proposal from the private law firm seeking to represent the county in the lawsuit provides some perspective on those costs. It quotes from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study indicating the annual economic burden of prescription opioid abuse in the U.S. is $78.4 billion. That includes about $42 billion from lost productivity, $26.1 billion in health insurance costs, $7.6 billion in criminal justice system costs and $2.8 billion in substance abuse treatment.
"The end goal of this litigation is to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for the costs communities incur as a result of the opioid epidemic," reads the executive summary of the Simmons, Hanly, Conroy LLC proposal.
The law firm has had success with these types of lawsuits. In 2006, the firm won a $75 million settlement after suing Purdue Pharma LLP and Abbott Laboratories Inc. The companies are the promoters and manufacturers of OxyContin. The lawsuit claimed fraudulent marketing to doctors and patients stating the drug was not as addictive as other alternative drugs.
In a related trial, three manufacturing company executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges. They received probation and community service. The marketing company paid more than $600 million in fines.
If McMahon recommends moving forward and the full county board agrees, the case would proceed on a contingency fee basis. Local governments rarely have the staff or money to fight a legal battle on the scale involved in the opioid lawsuits across the country.
Paul Hanly Jr. of the private law firm seeking to represent the county, recently told Corporate Counsel his firm pays the upfront costs of the lawsuits in exchange for 10 percent to 40 percent of the amount the county receives if the lawsuit is successful.
Drug manufacturers have unsuccessfully fought against the contingency fee arrangements, calling them financial conflicts of interest, in the opioid cases brought thus far.
County board Chairman Chris Lauzen has asked board members to consider the possibility or perception that a law firm may be using the county for its own financial gains through such a lawsuit.