The following lawsuits were announced or filed since Oct. 12 by counties, cities and states, seeking to recover funds spent addressing widespread illicit opioid use in each community.
Plaintiffs named in the suits include drugmakers, drug distributers, individual physicians and a healthcare accrediting body.
The lawsuits are listed below, beginning with the most recent.
1. 28 Wisconsin counties file opioid lawsuits against drugmakers, physicians
Twenty-eight counties in Wisconsin filed lawsuits Nov. 7 against several drugmakers and physicians for allegedly engaging in a deceptive opioid marketing campaign, which facilitated the nation's ongoing opioid overdose crisis.
2. Kentucky AG files opioid epidemic lawsuit against Endo
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear on Nov. 6 filed a lawsuit against Endo International for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketing tactics while promoting its controversial opioid Opana ER in the state.
3. West Virginia cities sue Joint Commission over pain management recommendations
Four West Virginia cities — Ceredo, Charleston, Huntington and Kenova — filed a class-action lawsuit Nov. 2 against The Joint Commission, alleging the healthcare accrediting body issued pain management standards in 2001 that downplayed the deadly and addictive properties of opioids.
4. New Jersey files opioid epidemic lawsuit against Purdue Pharma
New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino filed a lawsuit Oct. 31 against Purdue Pharma, alleging the drugmaker engaged in deceptive marketing campaigns from the late 1990s through 2007 to promote the widespread use of opioid pain medicines, including OxyContin.
5. Ohio county files opioid lawsuit against drugmakers, distributors
Officials with Cuyahoga County filed a lawsuit Oct. 27 against multiple drugmakers, drug distributors and physicians for their alleged role in facilitating high rates of opioid overdoses in one of Ohio's most-populated counties.
6. Georgia's most populated county files opioid epidemic lawsuit
Fulton County officials filed a lawsuit Oct. 23 against multiple drugmakers, drug distributors and physicians for their alleged role in facilitating high rates of opioid overdoses in the Georgia county.
7. Pennsylvania county opioid epidemic lawsuit names 23 defendants
Attorneys representing Beaver County, Pa., filed a lawsuit Oct. 16 against nearly two dozen drugmakers, drug distributors and physicians for their alleged roles in the county's spike in opioid-related overdoses.
8. 2 Michigan counties file joint opioid lawsuit against drugmakers, distributors
Oakland County and Wayne County in Michigan filed a joint lawsuit Oct. 12 against 12 drugmakers and drug distributors for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketing practices to promote the widespread use of opioids.