This week, a bellwether federal trial begins in Cleveland focused on the role that retail pharmacies played in the opioid crisis, which has resulted in the deaths of nearly 500,000 Americans over the past two decades. The trial, ruled over by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, is part of 3,000 lawsuits that have been consolidated.
Opioid Crisis in Ohio
In Lake County, between 2012 and 2016, so many prescription painkillers were dispensed that the amount equaled 265 pills for every resident. In Trumbull County, during the same period, it totaled 400 pills for every resident. Efforts to control and address the epidemic has cost each county at least $1 billion. Administrators cite increased costs for their courts, jails, foster care, law enforcement, and addiction treatment.
“People need to realize that drug addiction is a family disease, and everyone in the family is affected by it,” said Trumbull County resident Sharon Grover. Grover’s daughter died after becoming addicted to prescription pain pills and then heroin. “I’m never going to be the same,” she added.
Response from Pharmacies
For the first time, pharmacies — specifically, CVS, Walgreens, Giant Eagle, and Walmart — will have to defend their role as distributors in the ongoing epidemic. Rite-Aid already settled with both counties. Trumbull County received $1.5 million in their settlement, while Lake County was awarded an undisclosed amount.
The trial will focus on the harm to the counties as well as the response by the pharmacy chains. It is expected to last around six weeks. The outcome will set the tone for future lawsuits against pharmacies around the United States.
The pharmacies argue that their pharmacists were simply filling prescriptions written by physicians for medical needs. Attorneys for CVS believe that the allegations “are completely unfounded. The evidence presented at trial will show not only that CVS met the legal requirements for distributing prescription opioid medications in Lake and Trumbull Counties but that it exceeded them.”
For more information about the opioid crisis and settlement, contact us today.
Additional Reading:
Tentative Opioid Settlement For $26 Billion Focuses on Treatment, Prevention, and Education
Johnson & Johnson Agrees to End Opioid Business With $230 Million Settlement
Tracy Everhart
Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.