The Terrebonne Parish Council Tuesday appointed attorneys to decide whether the parish should join pending litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Houma attorneys Chuck Bourque, Berwick Duval II and Hunt Downer will not charge for their services unless the parish is awarded money through a judgment or settlement.
"There's been a number of lawsuits that have been filed by municipalities and governmental entities across the United States against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid medication," Bourque said at Tuesday's meeting. "The majority of those suits that have been filed by local governmental entities have recently been transferred into multi-district litigation, which is pending in Ohio. ... We believe that it's in the best interest of Terrebonne Parish to retain counsel and investigate whether Terrebonne Parish would have a viable claim in that litigation."
If so, he said, the attorneys would file a claim on behalf of the parish government.
Councilman Dirk Guidry was among those who voiced his approval of the plan.
"Every year, there's more people that die from opioid overdoses than died in the entire Vietnam War," he said. "It's something worth us looking into to see if we could litigate."
The Terrebonne Parish Coroner's Office reported 53 fatal drug overdoses last year, 29 of which involved some form of opioid.
Bourque said the attorneys would not be able to add any defendants to a lawsuit without Parish President Gordy Dove's approval.
Current litigation involves manufacturers and national distributors rather than local doctors and pharmacies, he added.
"There's been no evidence that's been presented that we're aware of that they were involved with any of the improper conduct in either the marketing or the promotion or misrepresentation about the addictive nature of these drugs," he said.
-- Staff Writer Bridget Mire can be reached at 448-7639 or bridget.mire@dailycomet.com. Follow her on Twitter @bridget_mire.