CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Opening statements are scheduled Tuesday on Long Island in a trial against a dozen drug manufacturers and distributors accused of fueling the opioid epidemic.
"Today, the eyes of the world are on New York as we begin our trial against several manufacturers and distributors of opioids. The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on New Yorkers, but now, the dangerous and deadly actions that led us here will no longer be kept quiet," New York Attorney General Letitia James said. "As we fight to end these companies’ unlawful conduct and hold them accountable for this destruction, we know no amount of money will compensate for the pain our communities have experienced. We are committed to pushing every dollar possible into preventing future devastation."
Sharon Richmond grieves for her son, Vincent, every day. He died of an overdose after becoming addicted to oxycodone.
"My son and I never argued, and the only heated discussions we would ever have was the fact that oxycodone was dangerous and extremely addictive, and he would go on his computer and he would show me research that denied it," Richmond tells WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "These drug companies that are allowed to say that it's not addictive and they're allowed to get away with anything because they're powerful."
She applauds the class action lawsuit that claims drug manufacturers pushed opioid painkillers on Long Island without warning about the risks of addiction.
"So there's no money that could ever replace the loss of him but knowing that those monies will go to other families, I could wake up in the morning and know that maybe there's one other family that's not going to go through the tragedy that I went through," Richmond said. "The pharmaceutical need to be held accountable and it's imperative that these monies are put back into where they need to be in treatment, services, and education."
Four pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, have already settled for hundreds of millions of dollars without admitting guilt.
Richmond calls the trial just the first step.
"We need to make guidelines that this can never happen again," Richmond said. "They can't find some backdoor policy that allows them to sell another drug under a different name that has similar addictive abilities."
Similar cases have been tried in California and West Virginia.
Oklahoma won a $465 million judgement in the first trial in the nation in 2019.