Worcester Business Journal

F OC U S H E A L T H C A R E Charlton and Worcester are leading the swell of Massachusetts communities seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for the opioid crisis Opioid liability BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer I n the 1990s, there was retribution for the public health damage done by tobacco companies, when four major tobacco companies agreed to pay a minimum of $206 billion in damages over 25 years in a settle- ment with 44 U.S. states seeking recov- ery of tobacco-related healthcare costs. Now, the pharmaceutical manufac- turing and distribution industry could be on track to settle another landmark public health lawsuit, as municipalities across the U.S. file suit seek damages for costs stemming from the opioid cri- sis that built to a crescendo of deadly overdoses in 2015, roughly two decades after opioids became the usual prescrip- tion for pain caused by anything from back surgery to chronic pain conditions and dental work. In March, the City of Worcester joined more than 50 other Massachusetts cities and towns pursu- ing payback for the cost of addiction. City Manager Edward Augustus' office on Feb. 28 announced Worcester planned to file a lawsuit in Massachusetts Superior Court against manufacturers and distributors, alleg- ing, as other communities have, drug- makers were deliberately deceptive about the safety and appropriate use of opioids, resulting in catastrophic public costs in Worcester. Small town problems Robin Craver, town administrator in Charlton, which intends to file a lawsuit with the help of a consortium known as Massachusetts Opioid Litigation Attorneys (MOLA), said South Central Massachusetts has been hard hit. A Webster resident, Craver has seen W Charlton 1 1 1 0 4 Dudley 1 3 2 0 0 Fitchburg 5 6 14 19 21 Framingham 6 4 11 12 18 Gardner 1 4 6 6 9 Leominster 4 6 10 7 13 Milford 5 2 4 3 11 Southbridge 2 2 2 6 12 Worcester 29 43 56 79 73 Total Central Mass. 54 71 106 132 161 Total MA 742 961 1,352 1,648 2,083 Confirmed opioid-related deaths in select Central Mass. communities Community 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Source: Mass. Dept. of Public Health as of Jan. 25, 2018 Note: Data for 2015 and 2016 are preliminary and subject to updates by the DPH The number of unintentional opioid-related deaths grew at a lesser rate in Central Massachusetts than statewide from 2012 to 2016. Here is a selection of regional communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic as well as the number of deaths in communities like Charlton and Dudley considering joining lawsuits against drugmakers. Edward Augustus, Worcester City Manager 12 Worcester Business Journal | April 2, 2018 | wbjournal.com Robin Craver, town administrator in Charlton, intends to join the MOLA lawsuit not only because of the seven confirmed opioid- related deaths in the town since 2012 but because of the cost of responding to opioid-related crimes and crises. P H O T O / N A T H A N F I S K E

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