opioid lawsuits

Edward Peter-Paul is chief of the Mi'kmaq Nation in Maine. Decades ago, a sweat ceremony helped him improve his relationship with drugs and alcohol. He hopes the new healing lodge can do the same for other tribal citizens.

Health & Safety

A tribe in Maine is using opioid settlement funds on a sweat lodge to treat addiction

7:01am May 12, 2024

Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from lawsuit settlements with opioid companies. Some are investing the new funds in traditional healing practices to treat addiction.

Health & Safety

CVS and Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10 billion

10:29am November 02, 2022

by The Associated Press

It could amount to the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the industry's role in an overdose crisis linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

David and Kathe Sackler, members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, testified via video to a House Oversight Committee hearing on Dec. 17, 2020. Sackler family members have acknowledged that the drug had a role in the opioid cr

National

The Sacklers Want Immunity From The Opioid Crisis For A Long List Of Their Associates

11:05am August 20, 2021

by Brian Mann

In the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial now underway, scrutiny has focused on the Sacklers' demand for immunity from opioid lawsuits that would extend to a vast network of individuals and businesses.

Steve Collis, president and chief executive officer of AmerisourceBergen Corp., testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on May 8, 2018.

As U.S. Corporations Face Reckoning Over Prescription Opioids, CEOs Keep Cashing In

2:14pm March 28, 2021

by Brian Mann

Companies that sold or distributed opioid medications face huge legal, financial and public relations peril. Critics say shareholders, not CEOs, will pay the price.

Queue Listen Now

The Bristol Regional Medical Center, now part of Ballad Health, was among hundreds of hospitals that have joined lawsuits against opioid makers.

Health & Safety

Some Hospitals Sue Opioid Makers For Costs Of Treating Uninsured For Addiction

9:25am October 24, 2019

by Blake Farmer

A few hundred hospitals have banded together to sue drugmakers in state courts, but far more are staying on the sidelines to avoid 'unflattering attention' about their role in the opioid crisis.

Akron fire medic Paul Drouhard shows a box containing naloxone hydrochloride, a drug carried in all their department emergency response vehicles to treat opioid overdose patients.

In Opioid Settlement, Johnson & Johnson Agrees To Pay Ohio Counties $20 Million

10:00am October 02, 2019

by Scott Neuman

The agreement removes the drugmaker from the list of defendants in an upcoming federal opioid trial and follows an August settlement in Oklahoma in which it agreed to pay $572 million.

Judge Thad Balkman ruled that Johnson & Johnson is responsible for fueling Oklahoma's opioid crisis. He announced his decision in Norman, Okla., Monday.

Health & Safety

Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay Oklahoma $572 Million In Opioid Trial

10:07pm August 26, 2019

In a landmark ruling, Judge Thad Balkman ruled in favor of Oklahoma in its lawsuit to hold the drugmaker accountable for the costs of opioid addiction in the state.

Queue Listen Now

Judge Thad Balkman will rule Monday in the Johnson & Johnson opioid trial.

Health & Safety

Oklahoma Judge To Rule In Landmark Opioid Case

3:16pm August 26, 2019

by Jackie Fortier

Oklahoma has argued that the drugmaker's marketing of painkillers contributed to thousands of overdose deaths and other harms in the state and is asking for a multibillion-dollar award.

A judge has ordered the release of a massive dataset giving a detailed picture of how opioid pills were distributed and sold from 2006-2012 as opioid addiction soared.

Federal Judge Orders Release Of Dataset Showing Drug Industry's Role In Opioid Crisis

10:45pm July 16, 2019

by Brian Mann

As addiction has soared, drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies profited off opioids. Newly released data details who made the pills, where they were sold, and which communities were hit hardest.

Volunteers help pay for and disseminate overdose kits, including the overdose antidote, naloxone, in Summit County, Ohio. The costs of battling the addiction crisis are a burden on many local municipalities.

Health & Safety

Cities And States Look To Big Pharma To Cover Costs Of The Opioid Epidemic

10:10pm May 27, 2019

by Brian Mann

The pharmaceutical industry is facing hundreds of lawsuits around the country from state and local officials, who want the industry to help pay to tackle the opioid epidemic.