Greene County’s legislative body went to battle against the problem of opioid abuse Monday night, voting nearly unanimously to retain the legal firm of Tom C. Jessee LLC to represent it in a lawsuit against “those companies that manufacture and distribute highly addictive painkillers.”

All commissioners present voted in favor of the move, except for Tim Shelton, who voted no, and Eddie Jennings, who abstained. Frank Waddell was absent.

Greene County Attorney Roger Woolsey previously told the Greene County Insurance Committee that the suit is needed to ensure that the county will benefit from a separate but related suit recently filed by three District Attorneys General representing Northeast Tennessee counties.

Attorney Crystal Jessee appeared before the commission to give information and answer questions from commissioners. She described the problem of opioid misuse and addiction as a crisis, and told Commissioner Brad Peters, in answer to a question, that Greene County is in the “top 40” of Tennessee’s 95 counties affected by the opioid epidemic.

Commissioner Pamela Carpenter, still recovering from a devastating vehicle accident several weeks ago, told her peers that the driver whose car struck hers was under the influence of four opioids, plus alcohol, at the time of the accident. She said anything that could be done to battle the opioid crisis should be supported.

“What happened to me could happen to any of us,” Carpenter said. Her vehicle was struck by a car that crossed into her lane of traffic.

In the resolution commissioners passed 19 to 1, Woolsey, author of the document, cited statistics that say more than 1,263 Tennesseans died from opioid overdoses in 2014 and that number increased by nearly 14 percent by the next year.

“Drug overdoses now kill more Americans each year than either automobile accidents or guns,” Woolsey’s resolution states.

Well-known opioids include hydrocodone and oxycodone.

Jessee told commissioners that a main root of the problem traces back to West Virginia’s coal mines, where miners often used opioid painkillers to help them continue to work when in pain from injuries. The problem has spread and grown, and remains “predominantly in white rural areas,” Jessee said.

West Virginia already has had success in taking on, in court, the distributors of opioids, she said. “We want Tennessee to be second,” she told the commission.

Commissioner Lyle Parton asked Woolsey why the county would need to hire outside representation rather than letting Woolsey, an experienced trial attorney now serving as Greene County attorney, handle the case.

Woolsey told him that the sheer size and specialized nature of the lawsuit makes it ill-suited for a lone attorney or “even a small firm” to take on. Such a sprawling suit can be pursued effectively only by large, well-resourced legal firms with specialized abilities working together.

Jessee told the commission that the companies being targeted are “multi-billion dollar companies,” one of them, McKesson, being the fourth largest company in the United States. “They have enough lawyers to fill this room,” she said, standing in the large courtroom in the Greene County Courthouse where the commission meets each month.

Woolsey said the case is not one a small, private law practice such as the one he and his wife, Linda Woolsey, have operated for many years, would consider taking on.

He said that the contract the county was being asked to approve includes provisions to keep the county from being charged for expenses should the case “go down the tubes” and achieve no recovery, Woolsey said.

“You wouldn’t have somebody coming to you with their hand out, asking for reimbursement for expenses,” he said.

The resolution approved by the commission notes that “the employment of the law firm of Tom C. Jessee LLC by Greene County is necessary to protect citizens and possibly reduce the burden on taxpayers of Greene County” stemming from the opioid crisis.

Though the resolution mentions “manufacturers” of opioids, Jessee said the suit initially is aimed at the distribution chain that puts opioids into circulation. Suits against manufactures initially have achieved little success, she said, but distributors are seen as more vulnerable.

If it appears advisable later, she said, manufacturers could be added to the lawsuit.

Jessee told the group that her law firm has been able to connect with and get support from the West Virginia attorney who launched the first lawsuit against opioid distributors.

Three district attorneys general announced a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, L.P., related companies and other defendants on June 12, in response to the regional epidemic of addiction to prescription painkillers and the devastation it causes.

The civil action was jointly filed by 2nd Judicial District Attorney General Barry Staubus, 3rd Judicial District Attorney General Dan Armstrong, whose four-county district includes Greene County, and Tony Clark, 1st Judicial District attorney general in Washington and three surrounding counties.