On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS to pay $650.6 million to two Ohio counties affected by the US opioid crisis.
According to plaintiffs’ lawyers at the Lanier Law Firm, the penalties will account for the companies’ “roles in failing to control the spread of deadly and addictive prescription opioids.”
“The grant will enable Lake and Trumbull counties to fund education and prevention programs, as well as reimburse local agencies and organizations for crisis management costs.”
According to the Lanier firm, more than 500 opioid overdose deaths in the two counties between 2015 and 2019 “could be directly or indirectly linked” to prescription opioids or prescription painkillers.
The order was issued by US District Judge Dan Polster in response to a jury verdict in November 2021 that found the three companies illegally created a “oversupply” of the drugs.
The case marked the first time that distributors of addictive painkillers, rather than manufacturers, were held accountable for the health crisis that has claimed more than 500,000 lives in the United States over the last two decades.
Walmart announced on Wednesday that it will appeal the penalty.
“Instead of addressing the root causes of the opioid crisis, such as pill mill doctors, illegal drugs, and regulators who are asleep at the wheel,” Walmart said. “Pharmacists were wrongly claimed to be second-guessing doctors in a way that the law never intended and that many federal and state health regulators say interferes with the doctor-patient relationship.”
Chain pharmacies Rite Aid and Giant Eagle had previously reached agreements with Lake and Trumbull counties.