Uintah, Duchesne, Daggett DAs file opioid lawsuit

STAFF REPORTS
Uintah County Attorney G. Mark Thomas joined Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote and Daggett County Attorney Niel H. Lund to announce they and a team of private law firms, including Napoli Shkolnik PLLC (New York City), Dewsnup King Olsen Worel Havas & Mortensen (Salt Lake City) and Magleby Cataxinos & Greenwood, PC (Salt Lake City) filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors on behalf of the Uintah, Duchesne, and Daggett counties, and the TriCounty Health Department.  
The complaint was filed in Utah’s 8th Judicial District Court for Uintah County, at the Uintah County Courthouse in Vernal.
The 243-page complaint argues that the opioid crisis was created by misinformation, false claims and marketing, generated by the manufacturers and distributors of the drugs.
Beginning in the 1990s, opioid manufacturers lied to both doctors and the public about the serious risks associated from long-term use of these drugs—one of the most critical risks being addiction. Meanwhile, opioid distributors injected millions upon millions of opioid pills into small communities, like the communities in Uintah, Duchesne, and Daggett counties, which are now left to cope with the human and financial consequences.
Utah is seventh in the nation for drug overdose-related events and deaths, primarily due to the overuse of prescription drugs like opioids.
In 2014, nearly one-third of all adults in Utah had a prescription for opioid painkillers.
More drug deaths in Utah result from prescription opioids than any other drug. The cost of the addiction takes time to unfold, but can be measured in the impact on families and the community, whether it is child neglect, infants born with drug dependence, estrangement of families, lost careers or criminal justice involvement. Utah counties have been forced to expend significant resources to combat the epidemic.
Defendants include the major manufacturers and distributers of opioids in the United States, Purdue Pharma L.P.; Endo Pharmaceuticals; Allergan; Teva; Cephalon, Janssen; AmerisourceBergen; Cardinal Health; and McKesson. These companies market branded opioids such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Fentora, and generic opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl.