Mecklenburg Co. files lawsuit in fight against opioid epidemic

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Mecklenburg County leaders officially filed a lawsuit Thursday against pharmaceutical companies blamed for the opioid crisis.

The 88-page lawsuit stated that opioid addiction and overdoses in the United States have reached epidemic levels over the past decade.

[READ: Mecklenburg Co. Opioid Lawsuit]

In North Carolina, opioid-related deaths increased by over 800% between 1999 and 2016, according to the lawsuit.

The documents went on to say that in 2016 at least 112 people died of opiate overdoses in Mecklenburg County, which nearly doubles the number of deaths in 2015.

[NC attorney general sues multi-billion-dollar drug company over opioid crisis]

Emergency room visits related to opioid overdoses also increased in Mecklenburg County, going from 263 in 2015 to 340 in 2016, the lawsuit said.

Apart from the toll on human lives, Mecklenburg County leaders said that the crisis has financially strained resources in Mecklenburg County, such as human services, social services and law enforcement services.

The lawsuit said the Mecklenburg County’s medical examiner has even said its morgue needs to add more storage spaces in its coolers to handle the increased number of opioid deaths.

Mecklenburg County leaders have said that they will not pay any legal fees unless they win money in the lawsuit.

[Burke County joins nationwide fight against opioid industry]

[Opioid crisis that has gone rampant in Gaston County, officials say]

Burke County leaders filed a similar lawsuit last week against manufacturers and distributors of opioids. Gaston County commissioners are also considering filing a lawsuit against the opioid industry.

There are 300 lawsuits nationwide filed against the opioid industry.

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