Livingston County officials will soon decide whether or not to join a statewide lawsuit to combat the opioid crisis.

The General Government and Health and Human Services Committee, a subcommittee of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, listened to a lengthy presentation from attorneys Michael Behm and Mark Bernstein Monday night on the subject of litigation against opioid manufacturers and big pharmaceutical companies that sell opioids. The proposed lawsuit, which is made up of many counties and municipalities across the state, would seek damages related to opioid treatment, related deaths and law enforcement costs. Committee Chairman Bob Bezotte tells WHMI he’s in favor of the litigation and was pleased with the presentation. “As you saw tonight, the other five county commissioners that aren’t on this particular general government committee came in because they’re interested in asking the right questions. We had the two attorneys here and we all could ask them questions. Probably at the next board meeting we’ll talk about these issues and what direction we need to go to. From what I’ve found out so far, everybody is in favor of holding these people accountable.”

He added that due to his years of experience in law enforcement, he understands how important this issue is and that addiction is impacting people of all ages, including minors.

The committee is made up of commissioners Wes Nakagiri, William Green, Bob Bezotte and Gary Childs. The full board is expected to review materials and make a decision on the matter in the next month or two. (AV)