State Attorney General Pam Bondi said Florida will file a lawsuit against drugmakers and distributors for allegedly contributing to the state's opioid crisis, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Ms. Bondi made the comments last week after announcing the state wouldn't join a large multistate opioid crisis lawsuit overseen by a federal judge in the Northern District of Ohio.
"Florida, as the third-largest state in the country, we will be filing our own lawsuit just as we did in the BP oil spill," said Ms. Bondi, referring to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the News Service of Florida. "Florida deserves the maximum compensation for all of the deaths that have happened in our state."
Multiple counties and cities in Florida have already filed opioid lawsuits of their own against drug companies, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The lawsuits allege the companies engaged in deceptive marketing tactics to promote the overuse of opioids, which contributed to the states' ongoing opioid overdose and addiction epidemic.
To read the full Tampa Bay Times report, click here.
More articles on opioids:
How Geisinger cut opioid prescriptions in half: 3 things to know
GOP lawmakers consider dropping Medicaid restrictions on opioid addiction therapy: 4 things to know
Surgeon general calls on public to carry naloxone