Wichita County Commissioners approve settlement for opiate litigation

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - At the May 22, Wichita County Commissioner’s Court, officials were updated on one of several lawsuits between pharmaceutical companies that sold opioids.

The settlement comes from the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, and this specific settlement came from the Allergan pharmaceutical company, and came out to $66,000 to be paid out over seven years.

Wichita County Judge Jim Johnson said the funds from the litigations are split in two groups. One where the money is sent directly to Wichita County, and the other into a grant fund the County needs to apply for.

“Like the settlement we did today I think pays out over seven years, and a lot of these have lengthy terms on the pay out,” said Judge Johnson. “And so this is something that the court is going to have to decide, not once, but on a regular budgetary basis to figure out how to best spend the money to help address the opioid addiction issue.”

The Allergan pharmaceutical company isn’t the only defendant in the national prescription opiate litigation as several other trials and settlements are in the works.

As those settlements come in Wichita county will have more opportunities to get these funds and help combat opioid addiction.

Copyright 2023 KAUZ. All rights reserved.