Another Washington county sues drugmakers over opioid crisis

SEATTLE – Clallam County is joining more than 200 other litigants in suing opioid makers and wholesale distributors for damages over prescription opioids.

The Peninsula Daily News reports county commissioners are hiring a Seattle-based nationwide law firm to file the lawsuit on behalf of Clallam County in federal district court in Cleveland, Ohio, commissioners’ Chairman Mark Ozias said Monday.

The county’s Board of Health last week recommended the county pursue legal action against manufacturers including Purdue Pharma.

Chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney David Alvarez says Clallam County is an appropriate litigant for the case.

The state Department of Health says the county has an age-adjusted rate of opioid-related overdose deaths higher than any county in Washington from 2012-16.

Seattle and Washington state are among others suing the companies, but in state court.

The drug companies have disputed the allegations.