Florida hospitals’ opioid lawsuit stalled after jurors could not agree.
A mistrial in a major opioid case in Florida has left hospitals and national pharmacy chains at a standstill after months of testimony, long deliberations, and strained talks in the jury room. The case centered on claims from sixteen hospitals that three of the country’s largest pharmacy chains pushed vast amounts of opioid painkillers into Florida communities, leading to a wave of addiction and medical bills that the hospitals say they had to absorb. The dispute played out in a Broward County courtroom, where jurors spent two weeks trying to reach a shared decision but eventually told the judge that there was no path to agreement.
The dispute began back in 2019, when hospitals including Broward Health, Tampa General Hospital, and Good Samaritan Medical Center accused Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens of fueling soaring opioid use across a stretch of Florida counties. Their lawsuit said the chains worked too closely with drug companies and distributors, helping move billions of pills into the regions these hospitals served. The complaint said the pharmacies dispensed more than 21 billion opioid pills between 2006 and 2018 in just fifteen counties, a number the hospitals argued worked out to nearly 200 pills per resident each year. They said the strain from treating addiction and related injuries added up to more than $528 million in unpaid care, plus another $1.5 billion in costs when patients struggling with opioid use arrived for unrelated medical problems.
The trial began in September and drew attention not only across Florida but in other states facing similar disputes. During the long deliberations, tensions rose among the jurors. One juror was dismissed after a dispute with another, but the remaining eight continued to meet with the hope of reaching a final decision. After the second notice that they were still split, the judge ended the trial. The pharmacy chains moved several times for a mistrial as the jury struggles became clear, but the judge denied those requests until the final notice from the jurors made further deliberation pointless.
The companies responded quickly. CVS said it was satisfied that the hospitals’ arguments did not win the jury over. Walmart said the evidence brought against it was weak and expressed confidence about the next trial. Walgreens did not release a public comment. The hospitals’ attorney said he was disappointed in the outcome but expects the next trial to begin as early as April.
The lawsuits against pharmacy chains are part of a wider legal battle tied to the American opioid crisis. Opioid addiction has taken hundreds of thousands of lives since the late 1990s, with both prescription drugs and illegal opioids driving a rising number of deaths. Across the country, drugmakers, distributors, and pharmacies have faced thousands of lawsuits claiming they helped create or worsen the problem. Many companies have already paid into nationwide settlements totaling more than $50 billion. Still, some cases continue to move forward, including this one, which will now start again after months of testimony came to a halt without a verdict.
Sources:
Florida hospitals’ opioid case against Walmart, CVS, Walgreens results in mistrial
Florida Jury Deliberated for 11 Days in an Opioid Trial. Pharmacies Now Want a Mistria
Join the conversation!