Last week, a group of 12 Missouri hospitals joined the suit against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers by filing a civil lawsuit in the Greene County Circuit Court.
In the lawsuit, the lawyers argued, stating that nearly 2.2 billion pills were shipped to Missouri, between 2006-2014, by the opioid distributors, which equaled 362 opioid doses for every man, woman, and child in the state. The opioid prescription written was 71.8 per 100 persons by 2017, which was higher than the national average of 58.7 per 100 persons.
The lawsuit noted that the drug manufacturers' deceptive marketing to hospitals and physicians claiming the low risk of developing dependence led to the crisis and the associated health care costs. The retailers, distributors, and manufacturers ignored mounting evidence of the crisis and failed to identify, report, and take steps to stop suspicious orders.
The hospitals join more than 650 hospitals across the United States to file lawsuits against the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of the opioid drug.
Earlier in March, a panel of judges from West Virginia has set a trial date of March 2021 for hearing the opioid lawsuits filed by counties, cities, towns, and hospitals claiming the damages caused due to the opioid epidemic by the opioid manufacturers and distributors. Judge Alan Moats even headed a status conference to discuss and calculate the damages caused by the manufacturers. West Virginia is the most affected state with a higher rate of overdose rate across the United States.
