Drug Company Deflects Blame in Lawsuit Over West Virginia Opioid Crisis

August 18, 2017

A West Virginia city’s lawsuit against a drug company has led to a dispute over which is at fault in the opioid epidemic.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported last week that one of the nation’s largest drug wholesalers is attempting to dilute responsibility for the opioid crisis after Huntington filed a lawsuit against it.

According to its federal court filling, Cardinal Health asserts nearly 2,000 organizations, businesses and medical professionals could potentially be held accountable for the epidemic.

Huntington alleges that prescription painkiller shipments from Cardinal and other distributors helped fuel the problem, which has led to record numbers of fatal overdoses.

A jury may be asked to assign percentages of blame if the case goes to trial, but only named defendants could be held liable and required to pay damages.

Topics Lawsuits Virginia

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Latest Comments

  • August 18, 2017 at 10:27 pm
    George Lee says:
    There is a great difference in the two. One is a corporate pusher. The other is a street pusher.
  • August 18, 2017 at 1:30 am
    Gork says:
    Do courts dither around like this when it's a heroin dealer? Do they apportion liability between the distributor and the street dealer? These people KNEW they were manufacturi... read more

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