Potter County, Texas, which encompasses part of Amarillo, is considering launching a lawsuit against major drug companies.
As The Amarillo Globe-News reports, the county hopes to win back some of the money spent in the battle against the opioid scourge. Attorney Jack Walker has asked Potter County to join in the lawsuit being filed by his Dallas firm.
The suit charges that drug companies have inflamed an ongoing opiate addiction crisis that has ravaged the American landscape. In 2015, Potter County saw 17 out of every 100,000 people die from opioid abuse.
Walker said that costs associated with the epidemic included losses in the areas of criminal justice, health care costs and lost productivity. Possible targets of the lawsuit include Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin, as well as top drug distributors like Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.
