Washington State Trial of Opioid Distributors Starts

A trial pitting Washington state against the three largest U.S. drug distributors began this week, with the state seeking more than $38 billion in damages from the companies for their alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic within its borders.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed the lawsuit against the three distributors ― McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen ― in March 2019, charging that the companies “made billions of dollars feeding the opioid epidemic” by distributing massive amounts of prescription opioids in the state, and that they continued “even when they knew or should have known those drugs were likely to end up in the hands of drug dealers and addicts.”

In July, the AG rejected a proposed national settlement that would have paid $527.5 million to Washington over 18 years, saying the offer was insufficient and setting the stage for court proceedings to begin this week in the King County Superior Court in Seattle.

Ferguson is seeking $38 billion over 15 years to cover the state’s opioid-related treatment, public education, and criminal justice costs, along with billions more in unspecified damages.