Federal jury finds US pharmacy chains liable for opioid epidemic

A US federal jury has found that CVS, Walgreens and Walmart contributed to a deadly opioid epidemic in two counties in Ohio, a ruling that could set a precedent for thousands of legal cases pending against pharmacy chains.

Lawyers for Lake and Trumbull counties alleged the chains operated by the three companies did not do enough to prevent sales of addictive pain killer medications to residents, which contributed to hundreds of overdose deaths and cost authorities $1bn.

The landmark case is the first time pharmacy chains have been held liable at the conclusion of a trial for contributing to an opioid epidemic that has killed more than half a million Americans over two decades.

Thousands of similar legal cases are pending in the US, where state and local governments are seeking to recoup tens of billions of dollars in social and healthcare costs linked to the crisis.

In July, US states agreed a $26bn settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three of the biggest drug distributors in the US — McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen — to resolve allegations that the companies contributed to the epidemic.

The jury on Tuesday found the pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in the way they dispensed opioids and dismissed arguments that doctors and drug manufacturers were primarily to blame for the crisis.

Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing about 3,000 such cases, is expected to rule on how much the pharmacy chains must pay in damages following the jury verdict.

However, CVS, Walmart and Walgreens said they would appeal against the ruling in a move that could lead to an extended legal battle.

“Opioid prescriptions are written by doctors, not pharmacists; opioid medications are made and marketed by manufacturers, not pharmacists,” said CVS.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a $465m verdict against J&J, arguing the district court that had earlier heard the case “had erred in extending the public nuisance statute to the manufacturing, marketing, and selling of prescription drugs”.

Nevertheless, legal experts said the jury verdict against the pharmacies could set a precedent, as courts across the US consider similar cases.

“This jury verdict could have substantial implications for the many other cities and counties which are plaintiffs in the [litigation], which judge Polster is managing,” said Carl Tobias, professor at University of Richmond law school.

“The verdict may also influence judges and juries hearing other opioid cases around the US and suggests that the nuisance theory is viable.”

Lawyers for Lake and Trumbull counties said the judgment represented the “overdue reckoning” for Walmart, Walgreens and CVS’s complicity in creating a public nuisance.

“For decades, pharmacy chains have watched as the pills flowing out of their doors cause harm and failed to take action as required by law,” the lawyers said in a statement. “Instead, these companies responded by opening up more locations, flooding communities with pills, and facilitating the flow of opioids into an illegal, secondary market.”