opioids News

US: Discrimination Based on Opioid Treatment Violates Law

A deepening opioid epidemic is prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to warn about discrimination against those who are prescribed medication to treat their addictions. In guidelines published Tuesday, the department’s Civil Rights Division said employers, health care providers, law …

Walgreens Goes to Trial in Florida Lawsuit on Opioids

Most of the defendants in Florida’s lawsuit over the opioid epidemic have settled for more than $870 million, according to the state attorney general. One remains: Walgreens Co. is not giving up. A jury has been seated in Pasco County, …

Purdue Pharma Judge Overrules DOJ to Approve $6 Billion Opioid Settlement

The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy on Wednesday approved a $6 billion opioid settlement funded by its Sackler family owners, overruling objections from the Department of Justice and 20 states that opposed the deal. Under the settlement, the Sacklers would …

CDC Proposes Changes in Guidance to Doctors on Opioid Prescriptions

The nation’s top public health agency has proposed changing — and in some instances, softening — guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s previous guidance, issued six years ago, helped …

Tennessee Doc Pleads Guilty Then Sues Insurer After Clinic Burns Down

A Tennessee doctor who pleaded guilty to running a pill mill has now filed suit against his property insurance carrier for failing to pay after a suspicious fire destroyed his clinic. Dr. David Bruce Coffey of Oneida, in northeast Tennessee, …

J&J Reaches Opioid Settlement with New Mexico

Johnson & Johnson on Friday said it had agreed to pay $44 million to resolve claims that it fueled the opioid epidemic in New Mexico, a state which originally opted against participating in a nationwide settlement resolving thousands of similar …

Allergan Settles for $200M with New York Over Opioids

Pharmaceutical company Allergan Finance LLC will pay $200 million to New York state and two of its counties as part of an agreement that removes it from an ongoing state lawsuit over the opioid crisis, state Attorney General Letitia James …

Women Sue Yale Over Fentanyl Switch-Up at Fertility Clinic

Seven women who say they suffered excruciating pain after a nurse stole fentanyl for her personal use and replaced it with saline sued Yale University on Wednesday, alleging it of failing to safeguard its supply of the painkilling opioid at …

Drugmaker Endo Settles Opioid Claims by New York, Counties for $50M

Drugmaker Endo International Plc on Thursday said it has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve lawsuits by New York state and two of its largest counties related to the sale and marketing of opioids. Endo said the settlement includes …

Arizona High Court Rejects Major Part of Suit Against CVS

An Arizona Supreme Court ruling rejects a major part of a Tucson hospital’s lawsuit accusing a pharmacy chain of negligence and seeking compensation for care provided to opioid-addicted patients. The justices ruled this week that Tucson Medical Center can’t sue …