A federal judge has determined that the three largest US drug distributors are not responsible for the opioid epidemic, one of the country’s most devastated counties. Over eight years, 81 million prescription analgesics have been shipped to a population of less than 100,000 at this location. ..
Judge David A. Faber of the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of West Virginia issued his opinion on a holiday on July 4, almost a year after the Huntington City and Cabell County-focused trials ended. ..Oscar-nominated documentary “heroine)” About the effect of prescription analgesics.
According to the ruling, the fatal overdose rate in Cabell County increased from 16.6 to 213.9 per 100,000 people between 2001 and 2017.
In exempting drug distributors (AmerisourceBergen, McKesson, Cardinal Health), Judge Faber admitted that the county and city would be very expensive, but “it is natural to hold them accountable in such cases. The trend is about sympathy, but about facts and the law. “
His decision demonstrates the difficulty of determining liability for decades of disasters in which many organizations, including pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy chains, doctors, federal surveillance agencies, and drug distributors, have played a role.
Drug distributors typically process pharmacy orders by trucking drugs from the manufacturer to hospitals, clinics, and stores. In charge of management Their inventory. Like other companies in the pharmaceutical supply chain, distributors need to comply with established federal regulations for regulated substances such as prescription opioids and have an internal monitoring system to detect problematic orders. I have. City and county lawyers argued that distributors should investigate orders from pharmacies that demanded very disproportionate amounts of dependent tablets in the population of these small communities.
However, Judge Faber ruled that: Distributors are also not pharmacists with the expertise to assess potential danger signals contained in prescriptions. “
The judge also firmly denied the legal argument that distributors caused “pollution.” This claim has been widely used throughout opioid proceedings across the country, and so far, results have been mixed in a few state and federal test cases.
The three distributors will sign contracts with the state to settle thousands of proceedings filed by thousands of local governments earlier this year, paying $ 21 billion for addiction treatment and prevention services over 18 years. Agreed to. However, Cabell County and Huntington City refused to sign on, believing that they could make more money by going to trial, often referred to as Ground Zero in the US crisis. They were asking the company for more than $ 2 billion.
“”trial It’s always been gambling and this hasn’t paid off, “said Elizabeth Birch, a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, who closely tracks opioid proceedings nationwide.
The trial was introduced by county and city lawyers AmerisourceBergen email West Virginia people are called “Pilbillies” and the area is called “Oxycontineville”. An executive at one company said the sample was carefully selected and is just an example of how employees are expressing their work fatigue.
In a statement praising the ruling, Cardinal Health said it had a rigorous screening system. Distributors say, “To provide all kinds of medicines from manufacturers to thousands of hospital and pharmacy customers who dispense patients based on doctor-ordered prescriptions rather than manufacturing, selling and prescribing prescription medicines. Just provide a secure channel for. “
AmerisourceBergen requires drug distributors to walk a legal and ethical tightrope between providing access to the drugs they need and acting to prevent the diversion of controlled substances. “.
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“Regulated substances, including opioids, will only be distributed to DEA-registered and state-approved pharmacies,” McKesson added in a statement. Drug diversion and abuse involves private companies and governments. He argued that it was a problem that should be addressed with a comprehensive approach. , Providers and patients.
Steve Williams, Mayor of Huntington, who took office in 2012 because the opioid was wasting voters, said his disappointment with the ruling was immeasurable: “It’s a blow to our city and our community, but we. Is the face of adversity. “
Citizens said, “We do not have to take the primary responsibility to prevent an epidemic of this magnitude from happening again.”
Cabell County and Huntington lawyers, and the executive committee of national opioid plaintiffs, have issued a joint statement expressing their deep disappointment.
“Evidence from witness statements, company documents, and extensive datasets shows that these defendants are responsible for creating and monitoring the infrastructure that flooded West Virginia with opioids. I felt, “they said. “Aside from the results, our gratitude is directed to first responders, civil servants, treatment professionals, researchers and many others who testified to reveal the truth.”
The county and city are considering whether to appeal.
The bet to file a proceeding was dangerous, but several other governments succeeded in the trial. Washington also refused to sign a national reconciliation and was tried against distributors. May Reconciled $ 46 million more than would have been received in the national reconciliation. In June, OklahomaAlso settled with the distributor for more money that the national reconciliation would have provided.
West Virginia settled a proceeding against a distributor a few years ago. total At $ 73 million, the local government was free to continue the proceedings. The outcome of the proceedings is “a very careful story about opting out of the solid funds the settlement provides,” Birch said.
New West Virginia Trial Against The Same Three Distributors Was scheduled to open on Tuesday In a state court brought by another cluster of counties and cities in West Virginia, represented by the same lawyer who pursued the case decided on Monday. In court on Tuesday However, the start date is I delayed it.
