U.S. Sues Walmart, Alleging Role in Fueling Opioid Crisis
Published Date: 12/22/2020
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
The U.S. government accused Walmart Inc. of fueling a nationwide opioid crisis by ignoring warnings from its own pharmacists that the chain wasn’t properly screening prescriptions for painkillers, in violation of federal regulations. The lawsuit against the world’s largest retailer comes two months after the chain filed its own case accusing the U.S. of scapegoating Walmart for government failures in dealing with the crisis. In the new case, the U.S. alleges that the retailer set up a system designed to make it almost impossible for overworked store pharmacists to catch red flags about overly large numbers of prescriptions in order to boost profits. ”Given the nationwide scale of those violations, Walmart’s failures to follow basic legal rules helped fuel a national crisis,” the U.S. said in a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware. A Walmart spokesman didn’t immediately have a comment on the filing. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart is already a target of more than 2,000 suits filed by states, cities and counties, which claim the retailer intentionally turned a blind eye to suspicious prescribing of painkillers by doctors and profiting from opioid addictions and overdoses. The U.S. lawsuit boosts the pressure on the company. Walmart and pharmacy chains such as Rite Aid Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are facing a trial next year in federal court in Cleveland over the allegations. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake