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City Of Flint Files Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

By Sheri L. Stuart, Staff Writer 

Flint Mayor Dr. Karen Weaver announced at a press conference on Tuesday, Feb.19 that the Beasley Allen Firm and The CK Hoffler Firm have filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors on behalf of the City of Flint. The suit alleges the marketing of the drugs in Flint contributed to the creation of the opioid epidemic, a public health and safety crisis in the city. Flanked by members of her administration along with police and fire personnel and local clergy, Mayor Weaver said the city has incurred economic damages and continues to bear a significant financial burden in responding to the opioid crisis.

“We filed this lawsuit because, like other communities across the country, the opioid epidemic has left a terrible mark on the City of Flint,” Mayor Weaver said. “The problems that accompany opioid addiction, including overdose, crime, and sadly, death, force the city to spend money to address emergencies to protect its citizens.”

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there were 1,762 opioid-related overdose deaths in Michigan in 2016.  More than half of deaths, totaling 921 in 2016, were attributed to synthetic opioids and 727 were related to heroin.  Genesee County had an opioid prescribing rate of 119.7 for every 100 people, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The City of Flint is among the 10 Michigan cities with the highest number of drug-related overdose deaths between 2013 and 2015.

The City is represented by Tricia (CK) Hoffler, along with the Beasley Allen lawyers Rhon E. Jones, Navan Ward, Ryan Kral, Jeff Price and Will Sutton.

Hoffler said the pharmaceutical industry has been negligent and has refused to investigate suspicious orders of prescription opiates.

“They put profits over people, and they intentionally misled doctors and the public about the risks of these dangerous drugs, and municipal governments are left struggling to cope with the consequences,” said Hoffler.

The complaint is filed in the Eastern District of Michigan.

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