A $10 billion class-action opioid lawsuit has been signed by the city of Grande Prairie to become a representative plaintiff against more than 40 pharmaceutical companies. The city is seeking compensation for the damages caused by the opioids to its communities, and the strain it has put on municipalities resources responding to the opioid crisis.
Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given said the opioid crisis had impacted nearly every individual of the city, and the city's response by participating in the class-action lawsuit was a logical continuation to deal with the crisis. The Mayor further said that the crisis had affected the city financially by increasing costs for local governments in terms of policing and arranging emergency response services along with awareness programs.
The Mayor informed that the lawsuit would allow the city to deal effectively against the opioid crisis on behalf of all municipalities and hold companies responsible for the costs incurred in Grande Prairie, instead of local taxpayers.
The lawsuits filed state that a total of 19 people died due to the opioids crisis in Grande Prairie. Furthermore, more than 100 people have registered for local methadone treatment. Also, compared to the previous quarter, there is a 30 percent increase in supervised consumption sites.
The opioid crisis has also put a toll on the city’s budget indirectly. The real estate market in Grande Prairie has gone down along with the decrease in citizenry productivity. This has led to eroding of the tax base and income in the city. The lawsuit has been filed against reputed pharmaceutical companies like Apotex and Johnson & Johnson, who are opioid manufacturers. The defendant list also includes Shoppers Drug Mart and Jean Coutu.
On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado, Jason R. Dunn, announced that Omnicare Inc., a subsidiary of CVS Health, has agreed to compensate $15.3 million in penalties to settle allegations of dispensing opioids and other drugs without a valid prescription.
Omnicare owns two pharmacies in Colorado, one in Pueblo and the other in Grand Junction. The company supplied medications daily to the patients of long-term care facilities and also organized the kits for emergency drug dispensations.
The authorities claimed that Omnicare violated the Controlled Substances Act while delivering prescription medications to facilities. The company allowed the employees of the care facilities to remove opioids and other controlled substances from emergency kits before obtaining prescriptions from doctors, and the medications did not contain necessary documentation.
Along with the monetary settlement, the company will also increase its auditing and monitoring of the emergency kits. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Denver field division was also involved in the investigation along with the attorney.
The Calgary law firm representing plaintiffs of Grande Prairie city has stated that separate claims will be filed against Purdue Pharmaceuticals, who are makers of OxyContin. The law firm also mentioned in its statement that opioid manufacturers were engaged in a deceptive promotional campaign that misguided the people and make them addicted to these pain-killer drugs. Also, both manufacturers and distributors will be liable to pay out the settlement on refusal to monitor and put restrictions on the distribution of these pain-killer drugs.
Guardian Law Group, a U.S. firm with a track record of successful lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, represents Grande Prairie.
