Georgia families’ opioid case ends in mistrial due to COVID

Tablets of the opioid-based Hydrocodone at a pharmacy in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

(Reuters) – A Georgia trial by which 21 personal plaintiffs accused drug distributors McKesson Corp, Cardinal Well being Inc and JM Smith of appearing as unlawful drug sellers whose provide of opioid drugs tore their households aside led to a mistrial on Friday, resulting from rising COVID-19 circumstances in Glynn County Georgia.

Choose Roger Lane cited well being dangers when canceling a jury trial that kicked off on Tuesday in Glynn County Superior Court docket, and indicated {that a} new trial may be scheduled for early 2023, based on John Floyd, an legal professional for the plaintiffs.

McKesson and JM Smith couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. Cardinal Well being declined to remark.

The 21 plaintiffs are members of the family of opioid addicts in Georgia, and so they embrace youngsters whose mother and father died of overdoses and a lady whose grandson was born with opioid habit signs and died at one month outdated.

In opening statements, attorneys for the Georgia households accused Cardinal Well being, McKesson and JM Smith of filling illegitimate pharmacy orders and breaking the legislation “again and again” by failing to make required reviews of suspicious opioid orders to legislation enforcement.

The businesses’ supply of medication precipitated “loss of life, abuse and devastation” inside their households, legal professional Jim Durham mentioned within the plaintiffs’ opening assertion.

McKesson, Cardinal and JM Smith denied the allegations, saying of their opening statements that they didn’t trigger the drug addictions or drug abuse that had precipitated a lot ache to the plaintiffs. McKesson’s legal professional Randall Jordan mentioned the businesses had been “center males” that didn’t make opioids, prescribe them, or ship them to sufferers. The businesses weren’t accountable when addicted folks let their households down, Jordan mentioned in court docket on Tuesday.

The opioid epidemic within the U.S. has precipitated greater than 500,000 overdose deaths over the previous twenty years and spurred greater than 3,300 lawsuits towards drug producers, distributors and pharmacy chains.

Not like nearly all of these lawsuits, by which state and native governments have pursued public nuisance or misleading advertising and marketing claims, the Georgia households sued the businesses below Georgia’s Drug Seller Legal responsibility Act, which permits civil damages for people injured because of unlawful drug use.

Durham mentioned Tuesday that the plaintiffs would search verdicts “within the thousands and thousands” for every of the 21 plaintiffs.

McKesson and Cardinal Well being reached nationwide settlements of state and native authorities opioid lawsuits as a part of a $26 billion deal finalized earlier this yr, however that doesn’t forestall people such because the Georgia households from bringing lawsuits.

The case is Poppell v. Cardinal Well being Inc, Glynn County Superior Court docket, No. CE19-00472.

For the plaintiffs: Jim Durham of Griffin Durham; Benjamin Fox, John Floyd and Manoj Varghese of Bondurant Mixson & Elmore; and Ron Harrison of The Harrison Agency

For McKesson: Randall Jordan of Hunter, MacLean, Exley & Dunn

For Cardinal Well being: Andrew Keyes of Williams Connolly

For JM Smith: Nicholas Salter of Fox Rothschild

Learn extra:

Georgia households accuse opioid distributors of unlawful drug dealing

Drug distributors, J&J conform to finalize $26 bln opioid settlement

U.S. drug distributors prevail in $2.5 billion West Virginia opioid case

Oklahoma reaches $250 mln opioid settlement with drug distributors

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