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Trial set to open in massive US opioid lawsuit
CLEVELAND, Oct 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Leading US pharmaceutical companies go
on trial Monday charged with stoking the opioid epidemic that has ravaged
communities and left hundreds of thousands dead or overdosed across the
country.
Tens of billions of dollars is at stake after last-minute efforts failed to
agree a settlement between the companies and the states, counties, towns and
native American tribes who have brought massive civil lawsuit.
The trial could be the most costly since litigation against tobacco
companies in the 1990s, which showed cigarette companies cynically hiding and
exploiting the dangers of tobacco for profits.
The plaintiffs in the first federal lawsuit in the opioid addiction crisis
say manufacturers and distributors knew the dangers of the highly addictive
painkillers they pumped into communities in the past 15 years, ignoring
warning signs as they reaped billions in profits.
The trial in Cleveland, Ohio, pits 2,300 plaintiffs against giants of the
pharmaceutical world including drug distributors Cardinal Health, Amerisource
Bergen, and McKesson Corp; Israel’s generic drug manufacturer Teva; and
pharmacy chain Walgreen Boots Alliance.
Johnson & Johnson broke away with its own settlement, a $20.4 million deal
with two of the worst-hit Ohio counties.
That came after Johnson & Johnson was ordered in August to pay $572 million
to compensate Oklahoma state for the costs of dealing with the addiction
crisis.
– Health systems overwhelmed –
In Ohio, Federal District Judge Dan Polster pressured all sides for months
to come to a deal to avoid a grinding, lengthy trial.
But the parties could not come to an agreement on a proposed settlement
valued at $48 billion, including $18 billion in cash, after meetings on
Friday.
Four states involved in the litigation were in support.
But other states and many smaller litigants were dissatisfied with the
amount, the size of the cash component, lawyers’ fees and the way the money
would be distributed.
The compensation will pay for long-term damage caused by the crisis —
overwhelmed health and social systems, families unable to care for
themselves, and babies born addicted to the drugs.
“Every expert who has looked at this issue believes our country will be
dealing with the fallout from this class of drugs for many years,” Ohio
Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement last week.
“Any recovery must be directed toward solving the problem, and not diverted
to other uses.”
The proposed settlement amount would be only a fraction of the overall
cost.
A study released this week estimated that the opioid epidemic cost the US
economy at least $631 billion from 2015 to 2018.
The Society of Actuaries report projects that for this year alone the cost
could be $172-214 billion.
Nearly one-third of the 2015-2018 costs was in health care spending for
addicts and infants born to addicts.
Some 40 percent was for the costs of early deaths, and the rest was for
child and family care programs, criminal justice and lost productivity.
Communities say they are already under heavy financial pressure, and don’t
want to spend years fighting in court — giving the drugmakers and
distributors some leverage.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1419 hrs