1st week of landmark trial against opioid distributors ends

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia fire chief who starred in an Oscar-nominated documentary about battling drug abuse in ground zero of the nation’s opioid epidemic took the stand in a landmark trial Friday against three large drug distributors.

Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader testified to the growing number of overdoses first responders handled over the past decade, recounting how pill bottles were at the scenes of so many calls they responded to. Defense attorneys representing the companies declined to ask her questions, The Herald-Dispatch reported.

Rader's testimony concluded the first week of the trial in a case where Cabell County and the city of Huntington accuse drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Similar lawsuits have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements, but this is the first time the allegations have wound up at federal trial. The result could have huge effects on hundreds of similar lawsuits that have been filed across the country.

The county and city argue that “The Big Three” drug distributors created a “public nuisance” by flooding the area with 80 million opioid doses over eight years and ignoring the signs that the community was being ravaged by addiction.

During the trial, attorneys for the manufacturers have attempted to shift the blame away from their clients by arguing that what happens after delivery is out of the suppliers’ control, and that West Virginia’s labor-intensive mining and industrial sectors may have led to workers with a greater need for painkillers. They also pointed out that the companies had no authority over illicit street drugs, the cause of the current crisis.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs expect to call several more witnesses...