Denver and 16 Colorado local governments filed suit against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. The lawsuit alleges that the jurisdictions continue to suffer the consequences of the companies’ aggressive marketing and excessive distribution of prescription opioids, while deliberately down-playing the risks of addiction and overdose.
“These companies knew better, and they still allowed the devastation to occur in communities across the United States,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said. “This crisis could have and should have been avoided. So, we’re using every legal tool available to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors liable for the devastation their actions have caused in our cities, our counties and to our people.”
The City and County of Denver itself has had devastating impacts because of this epidemic. According to the Office of the Medical Examiner, between 2008 and 2017, 870 residents of Denver lost their lives to opioid-related overdoses. The opioid crisis caused by defendants has affected nearly every public entity in Colorado. The over-prescription and (mis)use of opioids is taking a toll on the country, resulting in death, visits to the emergency room, hospital stays, and unmeasurable pain felt by those who have become addicted to these drugs as well as their families and communities.
Led by the City & County of Denver, the Colorado municipal coalition of plaintiffs includes: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Fremont, Larimer and Teller counties; the City and County of Broomfield; the municipalities of Aurora, Black Hawk, Commerce City, Hudson, Northglenn and Westminster; and the Tri-County Health Department. The lawsuit will join over 1,500 cases filed on behalf of counties and cities nationwide. The plaintiffs seek to hold the defendants accountable for the far-ranging effects of the opioid epidemic on their residents and budgets.