Opioid Bellwether Trial Date Postponed To September 2019

Opioid Bellwether Trial Date Postponed To September 2019

Introduction

An Ohio jury recently postponed the first bellwether trial date for the Opioid litigation to six months from the earlier date. U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster announced all three cases filed by the local governments against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies providing opioid drugs, would go for trial on September 3, 2019.

The move would delay the resolution of the opioid epidemic, the major concern among people across the U.S. battling to prove that prescription drugs are unsafe for prolonged use and can cause severe complications. Opioid overdose has been reported to cause abnormal breathing, unconsciousness, vomiting, and even death. Pregnant women taking opioid as a painkiller blame the drug for the alleged birth defects in their babies. As per 2016 statistics on drug overdose deaths in the U.S., 66% of events correspond to opioids addiction.

More than 400 opioid-related lawsuits are centralized as a part of multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation) in the Northern District of Ohio before U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster.