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The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit accusing Walmart pharmacies of illegally dispensing controlled substances, thereby allegedly contributing to the opioid crisis.
The civil complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware, accuses the company of “hundreds of thousands of violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA),” according to a Justice Department news release.
According to the release, if Walmart is found liable, the company could face penalties of up to $67,627 for each prescription illegally filled by Walmart pharmacies and $15,691 per each suspicious order that was not reported.
“Under the CSA, every participant in the supply chain bears responsibility for preventing the misuse of controlled substances,” the lawsuit states.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit says there are more than 5,000 Walmart pharmacies across the U.S., and, until 2018, the company “acted as a wholesale distributor of controlled substances for its own pharmacies.”
Therefore, the company had the responsibility of not only deciding whether to fill Walmart pharmacies’ wholesale orders, but also of whether to fill individual consumers’ prescriptions.
The Department of Justice’s Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (PIL) Task Force conducted a multiyear investigation that led to the lawsuit, according to the news release. Allegedly, Walmart pharmacies “knowingly filled thousands” of prescriptions for controlled substances that were not for legitimate medical use.
The complaint also alleges Walmart received “hundreds of thousands of suspicious orders” and failed to report them to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“The opioid crisis has exacted a catastrophic human toll upon the residents of our district and upon our country,” Maria Chapa Lopez, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said in the Justice Department’s release. “National pharmacy chains must meet their legal obligations when dispensing and distributing these powerful medications. The filing of this complaint in collaboration with the Department of Justice and other United States Attorneys’ Offices demonstrates our firm commitment to enforcing these critical legal requirements.”
Recently, Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges for its role in the opioid crisis.
With its plea, the company admits it marketed opioids to doctors it suspected were writing illegal prescriptions, then lied to the DEA.
The plaintiffs in the Walmart lawsuit are seeking injunctive relief to “address and restrain” Walmart’s alleged violations. They also seek an award of the maximum civil penalties allowed by law and any further relief the Court deems appropriate.
What is your opinion of the Justice Department’s lawsuit? Do you think Walmart pharmacies share some responsibility for the opioid crisis? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
The U.S. is represented by Jeffrey Bossert Clark, acting assistant attorney general, Civil Division; Daniel J. Feith, deputy assistant attorney general; and the District of Colorado, District of Delaware, Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern District of New York and Middle District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
The Department of Justice Walmart Opioids Lawsuit is U.S. v. Walmart Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01744-UNA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
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57 thoughts onWalmart Pharmacies Face DOJ Lawsuit for Filling Suspect Opioid Scripts
add me please
What about antidepressants that cause severe withdrawal symptoms. I was prescribed them and opiates for pain. All filled at Walmart.
Add me please, they are ruining peoples lives all over making their quota and more money.
Add me
My case is the opposite, but they still need to be held accountable for not honoring a doctor script. I had emergency surgery for a stomach perforation, and after a week in ICU, I went to have my pain medication filled. Walmart would not fill the pain medication to what the doctor specified on the script. They told me that I could only have a week’s worth. I had to have my stomach reattached to my esophagus, I was septic, and I have 6 incisions on my belly. I was close to dying, and all Walmart would tell me is that I could only have a week’s worth of medicine. Once out of the hospital, I had to have two months physical therapy to use my belly muscles again so that I could get back on a board, and the pain was beyond anything I ever felt, but Walmart would only give 1 week’s medicine to me. Walmart is not my doctor or my insurance company, and if they are in trouble for doling out medicine wrong, I shouldn’t have to pay for it. I don’t rely on pain medicine for a high, and they couldn’t be a proactive member of my treatment team. I will never use Walmart Pharmacy again. I’m so sorry many folks are having problems with this kind of medication, no one should lose loved ones, but I am also posting as someone who is on the opposite side of the issue. Thank you.
Worker comp injuries 6 needing surgery and refused to fill my RX. THEY ARE NOT DRS. They would not even look at drs reports. Know its the opposite but my pain wS out of control and the laughed. Hate their pharmacy.
Please add me to the class action
Please add me.
add me, have been using walmart pharmacy for years. was on a certain med., and i know i was addicted. took me a long time (by myself) to get off the stuff. i was very ill, trying to get myself off of it. but , they still kept filling it.
Please add.
Add me
Please add me