CLEVELAND: Executives from several large healthcare companies and state attorneys general were progressing toward what is expected to be a multibillion-dollar deal to resolve the sprawling litigation over the U.S. opioid epidemic, a plaintiffs' lawyer said on Friday.
Polster is overseeing thousands of lawsuits by local governments that allege the companies fueled a public health crisis responsible for roughly 400,000 U.S. deaths from 1999 to 2017, according government statistics. The governments are seeking to recover some of the billions of dollars spent on emergency services, treatment and policing as a result of increased addiction rates.
The distributors have insisted that they were shipping FDA approved medicines prescribed by doctors. The drugmakers have also denied any wrongdoing.