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Teva Pharmaceuticals Opioid Epidemic Jury Verdict Overview:
- Who: A New York jury found that Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid abuse crisis in New York.
- Why: The jury said Teva and its entities created an oversupply of opioids in New York, and the state didn’t do enough to stop doctors from prescribing it
- Where: The trial took place in New York federal court.
The Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceuticals flooded New York with opioids, helping to contribute to the current-day opioid epidemic in the state, a jury has found.
On Dec. 30, a New York jury found that Teva Pharmaceuticals was responsible for creating a public nuisance in Suffolk and Nassau counties. The case was brought by the counties and by the New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In addition to finding the pharma company responsible, the jury also decided that New York state was 10 percent responsible for fueling the crisis, though the counties themselves were not found liable.
This is the second verdict to come from a jury in the nationwide wave of opioid crisis litigation. Just prior to Thanksgiving 2021, a federal Ohio jury found that CVS and other major pharmacies ignored suspicious opioid prescriptions, contributing to the crisis, Law 360 reported.
Teva Downplayed Opioid Risk, Allowed Areas To Be Flooded With Prescriptions, Counties Argued
Before last week’s jury decision, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Jerry Garguilo thanked the counsel for an “ultra-marathon” of a trial with millions of pages of discovery and thousands of pages of depositions.
During the trial, the counties argued that Teva had downplayed the risk of opioids and allowed the areas to be flooded with prescriptions. A trial for damages will take place in 2022, Law360 reported.
Attorney General James said the day was significant for every person who had been impacted by the pandemic.
“A jury has found an opioid manufacturer responsible for the death and destruction they inflicted on the American people,” she said. “Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids, which is why, in 2019, I made a promise that our team would hold them and the other manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid epidemic accountable for the suffering that they have caused.”
The news comes after a New York federal judge reversed the controversial $4.5 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma that granted the Sacker family, the owners of Purdue, immunity from all future opioid lawsuits in Dec. 2021.
What do you think of the outcome of this jury trial? Let us know in the comments!
New York is represented by the State Attorney General’s Office. Suffolk County is represented by Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC. Nassau County is represented by Napoli Shkolnik PLLC.
The Teva Pharmaceutical Opioid Cases are In re: Opioid Litigation, Case No. 400000/2017; County of Suffolk v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., Case No. 400001/2017; County of Nassau v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., Case No. 400008/2017; and State of New York v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., Case No. 400016/2018, all in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk.
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