The company preferred to put its hand in its pocket rather than get bogged down in legal proceedings. The American supermarket chain Walmart announced on Tuesday that it would pay 3.1 billion dollars in the United States to settle lawsuits brought by states and communities for its role in the opiate crisis in this country.
Like drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens, which agreed in early November to each pay $5 billion in similar deals, Walmart is accused of mass distribution of opiate painkillers without warning of high prescription numbers.
“Pharmacies such as Walmart have played an undeniable role in perpetuating the destruction wrought by opiates,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a separate statement. The over-prescription of opiates, which began in the late 1990s, led to a crisis that claimed more than 500,000 lives in 20 years.
Walmart challenges its role in the crisis
Although the trend has reversed since 2016, these drugs have created addictions and caused some patients to turn to drugs like heroin and fentanyl. Walmart disputes accusations about its role in this crisis and stresses that the agreement does not include any admission of liability.
In addition to the money paid, the company pledged to better monitor prescriptions to prevent fraud and suspicious prescriptions.