Three major drug manufacturers are not liable for an opioid epidemic caused by 81 million pills flooding a West Virginia county of 93,000 residents for eight years, a federal judge ruled late Monday. Distributed equally, that would amount to more than 860 pills per person over a period of eight years, and at least 18,000 of Cabell County’s residents are under 18 years old, according to the U.S. Census. The judge ruled in favor of AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corp. because he said the county and the city of Huntington failed to prove the companies knowingly caused the opioid crisis, the Associated Press reports. “Plaintiffs failed to show that the volume of prescription opioids distributed in Cabell/Huntington was because of unreasonable conduct on the part of defendants,” U.S. District Judge David Faber wrote. Attorneys for the city and county said they were “deeply disappointed” with the ruling, and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams described it as “a blow to our city and community.” Although more than 3,000 lawsuits have been filed against drug companies accusing them of being responsible for the opioid epidemic across the country, this suit was the first taken to the federal level and may have lasting effects on similar cases.
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