(WSJ) A Cleveland jury has found companies owning Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS pharmacies contributed to the opioid epidemic that cost two countries in Ohio $1 billion each.
Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS pharmacies were blamed for failing to stop pills from being sold in Lake and Trumbull counties of Ohio. They also failed to prevent false prescriptions from being given.
The defendants say they followed all federal and state regulations and went ahead to stop the pills from illegal use. They say the counties failed to show how the pharmacies contributed to the epidemic.
Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS plan to appeal the ruling, with attorneys of the two counties claiming damages of $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion. The lawyers say the pharmacies were the last line of defense against the spread of the pills in the communities.
The ruling opens a potential for other influential verdicts targeting various pharmacies on their role in the opioid epidemic, with at least 100,000 fatal overdoses occurring in the 12-months that ended in April.
At least 80 million opioid-linked pills were sold in Trumbull County between 2006 to 2012, while shipments to Lake County amounted to more than 60 million. The countries have a population of 200,000 and 230,000, respectively.
WMT is down -0.15% on premarket, WBA is down -0.40% on premarket, CVS is down -0.68% on premarket.
