Braintree Joins Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers, Distributors

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree will join a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors, Mayor Joseph Sullivan announced Wednesday.

The Town is the most recent to join the lawsuit, which aims to recover damages suffered due to the opioid crisis. Boston law firm Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. and the Washington D.C. law firm Motley Rice, LLC will represent the Town in the lawsuit. The attorneys are working on contingency, meaning that they only get paid if the lawsuit is successful or results in a settlement, in which case they would be entitled to a percentage of the reward.

Sullivan said the Town hopes to recover the cost of opioid prevention programs, costs incurred by first responders, court and crime-related expenses, physical and emotional damages as well as other related societal costs.

“This will not solve all of Braintree’s opioid problems nor can it fully repay our community for the immeasurable burdens and tragedies this epidemic has brought to so many of our families and our community as a whole instead, this legal action builds upon our fight to combat the opioid crisis against these companies that have long put profit above people. Through our Community Partnership on Substance Use we remain focused and energized on meeting the challenges of this opioid epidemic and in seeing that this strong declaration underlines our continued commitment to confront this national health crisis. We are putting these drug producers on notice that they need to take responsibility for the harm imposed on our community,” Sullivan said in a release.

The move follows nearby Quincy's October decision to sue drug makers. Nearby Stoughton is considering similar action.

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