KALAMAZOO(WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo County Board will join in a national class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical firms because of their role in sparking the national opioid crisis.
More Americans now die from heroin overdoses than from auto crashes.
The suit claims that the irresponsible marketing and misleading information about the addictive nature of pain-killers resulted in untold number of Americans becoming addicted and becoming a burden on state and local health agencies.
Board Chair Julie Rogers says they stand to get some reimbursement sometime down the road if they win that she would like to use for treatment programs.
It’s estimated the litigation and settlement, which would likely be modeled after the Tobacco settlement, could be 4 to 5 years away.
Pfizer hasn’t been named in any of the lawsuits because they never marketed an opioid based painkiller.
