Carroll County joins the rank of others in Maryland and across the nation pursuing litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

The County Commissioners voted unanimously to retain a law firm to file an action in state court.

As reported by The Baltimore Sun:

“We are in an absolute crisis. To me, this is the national emergency that we have to deal with,” said Commissioner Ed Rothstein, R-District 5.

County Attorney Timothy Burke, who’s been directed to retain the law firm Andrews & Thornton, said he would be the firm’s “man in Carroll County” working to collect data and determining who to bring as witnesses.

…

The county is not paying Andrews & Thornton a retention fee, but there is a 20 percent contingency agreement. If there is a settlement or an award in the case, Carroll County will retain 80 percent of the damages, moved into its general fund, and the law firm will collect 20 percent as payment.

In Maryland, a number of jurisdictions including Anne Arundel, Cecil, Harford, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, and Baltimore City, have filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers in distributors either in federal or state court.

For more information read the full article in The Baltimore Sun.