A U.S. judge on Sept. 3 rejected efforts by drugmakers, distributors, and pharmacies to dismiss claims that they caused the nation’s opioid crisis, clearing the way for a scheduled landmark trial even as he pushes for a nationwide settlement.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who oversees roughly 2,000 opioid lawsuits by state and local governments, said the plaintiffs could try to prove that drugmakers’ deceptive marketing of the painkillers caused a harmful, massive increase in supply that distributors and pharmacies didn’t do enough to stop.
