To the Editor:
Many families throughout Illinois have experienced loss because of opioid addiction and their pain and suffering should inspire our society to do something to address the serious issues surrounding opioid addiction.
More education on opioid addiction and new legislation to better regulate opioids are ways we as a society can prevent future tragedies. But just exactly how does putting a windfall of cash into the hands of personal injury lawyers do anything to resolve the opioid problem? Furthermore, what guarantees do we have the money that counties and cities collect from these lawsuits will actually go to addressing public health concerns? The truth is we don’t.
We have seen what happened with the tobacco lawsuits where personal injury lawyers got rich and state governments squandered tobacco settlement money they received on everything but public health programs. What makes anyone think the opioid lawsuits are going to be any different? Madison County needs to heed the lessons from the tobacco lawsuits and focus on what is best for Madison County residents – not on making sure personal injury lawyers get a big payday.
Travis Akin, Executive Director
Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch