Erie County filed a civil lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against 11 pharma manufacturing companies and four people for allegedly worsening the opioid epidemic in Erie County, according to an article in the Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune. The suit claims the defendants participated in deceptive acts and practices, false advertising and fraud.
"These drug makers and their enablers in the medical community were aware of the significant dangers posed by opioid prescription medications, yet that did not stop them from continuing to push opioids, and get even more people hooked on them," said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. "When addiction rates and fatalities climbed, they doubled down and increased their false advertising on the safety of these drugs, assuring doctors and patients that they were safe and had no long-lasting effects.
"In Erie County last year, we had over 300 fatalities that were opioid-related, and every day in America 78 people die from an opioid overdose," he continued.
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