In its efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, the city of Worcester has retained law firm Scott+Scott to file litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors of opioid products.

The defendants will include at least two sets of culpable parties: three major opioid distributors – AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. – as well as opioid manufacturers that engaged in a multipronged and multimillion-dollar campaign that inaccurately portrayed the safety of their product. Additional defendants may also be named.

Through the impending lawsuit to be filed in Superior Court, the city will seek reimbursement for potential damages including all costs of implementing opioid prevention and treatment programs; health insurance payments under the employee health plan for city of Worcester employees, retirees and their families; the costs incurred by first responders in overdose calls; court and crime-related expenses and the overall social costs of addiction, including expenses for employee NARCAN training.

Worcester is also seeking to recover additional costs that it has incurred or will incur in the future, that have historically not been considered traditional “municipal services,” such as providing rehabilitation for persons with addiction and counseling services for their families.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, there were 1,501 confirmed opioid-related deaths across the state in 2017.

“The human cost of the opioid epidemic both here in Worcester and throughout Massachusetts has been catastrophic,” City Manager Edward M. Augustus said in a statement. “This litigation is just one aspect of our continued commitment to do everything we can to save lives.”

According to a press release, the city will not be responsible for any up-front attorneys’ fees or expenses in connection with this litigation, as Scott+Scott will prosecute claims on a contingency fee basis. Expenses and attorneys’ fees will be paid only out of any amounts obtained by the city through the litigation. The firm currently represents cities and counties in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida and Massachusetts, including the cities of Springfield and Haverhill.