Kenosha County may soon join more than two dozen Wisconsin counties that have filed separate federal lawsuits against makers and distributors of prescription painkillers, alleging they’re responsible for precipitating the nation’s opioid epidemic.
The lawsuits filed Tuesday by 28 counties across the state accuse drug manufacturers and distributors of using deceptive marketing campaigns to misrepresent the safety of long-term opioid use and charge that they knew their “products were addictive, subject to abuse, and not safe or efficacious for long-term use.”
The lawsuits seek unspecified monetary damages for the financial strain the counties contend they have incurred in battling the epidemic. Wisconsin’s filings join those filed in more than two dozen states.
