Jury Awards Baltimore $266M In Lawsuit Against Opioid Distributors

BALTIMORE, MD — A jury on Tuesday found two major drug distributors liable for contributing to Baltimore's opioid crisis, ordering the companies to pay a combined $266 million in damages, according to officials and reports.

The verdict delivered a victory to the city following a six-year legal battle, the Baltimore Banner reported. McKesson and AmerisourceBergen must pay the city $192 million and $74 million, respectively, should the verdict survive an appeal.

The verdict also brings Baltimore's total restitution funds to more than $668.5 million, according to Mayor Brandon Scott, who called it a "game-changing figure."

"(It) will reshape our ability to confront this crisis in every part of our city," Scott said in a statement. "Today's verdict brings us one step closer to addressing the harm inflicted on our community, honoring the lives of the loved ones we lost, and seeking justice and healing for our residents who have endured heartbreak throughout this epidemic."

The jury's decision came two months after the city reached an $80 million settlement with Walgreens in its ongoing fight against opioid distributors and manufacturers. It followed similar settlements with Allergan and CVS for $45 million each, Teva for $80 million and Cardinal Health for $152.5 million.

In a statement sent to the Banner, McKesson said the company is preparing to challenge the verdict and will appeal if the motions are denied.

Overdose death rates began steadily climbing in the 1990s because of opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids like heroin and — more recently — illicit fentanyl. Provisional data had indicated a slight decline for 2023, and a tally released this week showed the downward trend has kept going.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 97,000 overdose deaths in the 12 months that ended June 30. That's down 14% from the estimated 113,000 for the previous 12-month period.

However, Baltimore has bucked the national trend, according to a May 2024 joint investigation by the New York Times and the Banner.

In the past six years, nearly 6,000 Baltimore residents died by overdose. The death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly double that of any other large city. Deaths have quadrupled since 2013 and, despite a dip in 2022, preliminary data for 2023 indicated overdoses were on track to rise again.

In an interview for the investigation, Scott defended the city's approach to combatting the crisis.

"This is an issue that we’re doing a lot of work on and that we can and will do more work on," Scott said, "but we also know requires a lot, lot more resources" than the city has.