By Lacie Pierson, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County, W.Va., handyman company is suing 18 pharmaceutical companies, saying reckless marketing and negligent distribution of opioids caused insurance premiums in West Virginia to skyrocket.
Al Marino Inc. said the costs of filling the inflated prescriptions for opioids, paired with the subsequent cost of substance abuse recovery treatment, have been passed down to businesses and other health care insurance consumers, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The company is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit. Al Marino wants unspecified damages and restitution.
The company is represented locally by Mark Troy, with the Troy Law Firm in Charleston. The company also is represented by James Young and Juan Martinez, both with Florida-based Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group.
In total, West Virginia has settled for $84 million among pharmaceutical companies for their roles in the opioid epidemic. Some of those companies, including McKesson Corp., are named as defendants in the Al Marino class-action lawsuit.
The defendants in the lawsuit filed this month are: …