Bondi says the pharmaceutical industry has played an influential role in both the nation’s and Florida’s opioid problem. Her office is reportedly interviewing outside lawyers to assist in the litigation. Some lawsuits have already been filed against the industry, but Bondi stresses the importance of the Sunshine State filing its own case to try to stop what she calls “bad behavior” by the companies.
“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,” Bondi told the News Service of Florida, referring to the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. “Florida deserves the maximum compensation for all of the deaths that have happened in our state.”
There’s not currently a timetable for filing the suit, though Bondi says Florida is working with cities, counties and states that have already filed cases against drug companies.
Opioid deaths have been especially common in Florida in recent years. In 2016, 1,390 deaths were caused by fentanyl, 952 deaths were caused by heroin, 723 deaths were caused by oxycodone and 245 deaths were caused by hydrocodone, according to a House staff analysis.
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This article appears in Apr 4-10, 2018.