HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Nov. 24, 2021 (HealthDay Information) — CVS Well being, Walmart and Walgreens contributed to opioid overdoses and deaths in two Ohio counties, a federal jury in Cleveland discovered Tuesday.
The primary jury verdict in an opioids case got here within the carefully watched check case and should show encouraging to plaintiffs in 1000’s of lawsuits throughout the US utilizing the identical authorized technique — that the businesses contributed to a “public nuisance,” The New York Instances reported.
That argument was rejected this month by judges in California and Oklahoma in instances towards opioid producers.
The Ohio case is the primary time the retail facet of the drug trade has been held accountable within the U.S. opioid disaster, the Instances reported. CVS Well being, Walmart and Walgreens are three of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains.
Following the decision, the trial decide will determine how a lot every of the pharmacy chains should pay Lake and Trumbull counties in northeastern Ohio, the Instances reported.
The counties’ legal professionals mentioned the three firms turned a blind eye to suspicious opioid orders for years. Eventual oversight necessities have been “too little, too late,” mentioned Mark Lanier, the counties’ lead trial lawyer, the Instances reported.
Overdose deaths from unlawful opioids have reached report ranges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, new U.S. authorities information present, the Instances reported.
Extra info
Go to the Nationwide Institute of Drug Abuse for extra on opioids.
SOURCE: The New York Instances
