Opioids Lawsuit Reaches 0M Settlement Before Trial

Attorneys for two Ohio counties revealed on Monday that a $260 million settlement had been reached in a lawsuit against four pharmaceutical firms over the drug companies’ role in the ongoing opioid crisis. The settlement came just hours before the case was to go to trial in federal court on Monday morning. Under the terms of the agreement, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by attorneys for the plaintiffs, Cuyahoga and Summit Counties will receive a total of $260 million from pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Corp., and drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The two counties had asked for almost $8 billion. The three distributors will pay a combined total of $215 million to the two counties immediately while Teva will pay $20 million in cash between the end of the year and 2021 and provide $25 million worth of the emergency overdose reversal drug Suboxone. “The proposed settlement will make significant progress to abate the epidemic by providing resources for and applying funds directly to necessary opioid-recovery programs,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement Monday. More than 2,500 state, local, and tribal governments have filed suit against drug manufacturers and distributors for aggressively marketing and disseminating power opioids, leading to a plague of overdose deaths, taking more than 400,000 lives over two decades. An Ohio federal judge has combined the lawsuits filed by Cuyahoga and Summit counties to serve as a test case for the remaining litigation. “Throughout this process, Summit and Cuyahoga Counties have tirelessly investigated, litigated, and prepared for the bellwether trial that would have begun today if not for this agreement. In doing so, the communities revealed facts about the roles of the opioid industry that created and fueled the opioid epidemic,” the attorneys added. Walgreens…

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Source : High Times
Link to original : Opioids Lawsuit Reaches 0M Settlement Before Trial
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