State of Kentucky Attorney General (AG) Andy Beshears has filed a lawsuit implicating the Walgreens pharmacy and distribution chain in the epidemic of opioid overdose deaths in the state.

According to a Law360 article, the AG is holding the corporation responsible for contributing to this enormous rise in overdose deaths of Kentucky citizens, defrauding public health programs like Medicaid by not questioning or checking suspicious prescriptions, and contributing to a drug-related crime uptick.

According to the AG, Kentucky has paid dearly for the purported failure of Walgreens to appropriately flag and stop suspicious opioid orders. The lawsuit, filed on June 15, 2018, alleges that the state has seen a rapid increase over the last few years in opioid overdose deaths, with 1,400 citizens succumbing to their addictions in 2016 alone.

In addition to the overdose deaths, the AG indicates that the state of Kentucky has had their Medicaid system overburdened with the care of the program’s beneficiaries who have become dependent upon prescription pain-killers. The cost of addiction treatment and aftercare services is prohibitive and unsustainable.

Also, according to Beshears in the Law360 article, the rate at which opioid-addicted babies are born had increased proportionately. Children born to addicted parents must go through a physically stressful period of withdrawal after delivery.

These babies often suffer seizures, diarrhea and vomiting, while often being unable to hold fluids down, threatening their weight. They cry incessantly and get very little rest—a very difficult experience for themselves and their caretakers.

Finally, Beshears notes an unmistakable increase in armed robbery related to the opioid epidemic. He cites in the Walgreen’s lawsuit a report by the Kentucky Prescription Drug Abuse Summit in 2012. The report noted that where certain regions had once had 1-2 armed robberies per year, those same regions were then experiencing 2-3 per month.

What Does Walgreens Have to Do with It?

AG Beshears points out that Walgreens is both a pharmacy chain, distribution network, and is quarter owner of AmerisourceBergen—a top nationwide distributor. Because of its size and access to high-end computer analytical data, he argued, they had the know-how and capacity to earmark suspicious opioid orders that were outside the norm for size or had other red flags.

In the drive for ever increasing profit, the AG alleges that Walgreens followed a pattern of disregard for these warning signs. He believes the responsibility for the unheard of number of opioid overdose deaths lies squarely on the shoulders of this company with over 70 Kentucky locations.

Walgreens has a long history of demonstrating this purported disregard, alleges the lawsuit. In 2008, they came under the scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General for poor record-keeping and questionable practices of dispensing prescription drugs.

According to Law360 and Beshears, the company signed an agreement to closely monitor future record-keeping and dispensing actions but failed to follow through with promise.

The end result was an $80 million fine against Walgreens to wipe away liability for violations in these areas. The AG indicates that this financial consequence did little to stop the corporation at the expense of Kentuckians.

The causes of action brought against Walgreens in this lawsuit include Medicaid fraud, violations of the Consumer Protection Act, fraud by omission, unjust enrichment, negligence and negligence per se. A request for punitive damages was also presented by the AG Beshears.

The Walgreens Lawsuit is Case No. 18-CI-00846, in the Boone Circuit Court, Kentucky.

In general, opioid overdose death lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

If your loved died from an opioid overdose in the last three years from an addiction that began as a legal opioid prescription from his or her doctor, you may have a legal claim. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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