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Trial Against Opioid Distributors Set To Begin In W.Va.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A trial is set to start in a lawsuit filed in West Virginia accusing three drug distributors of fueling a local opioid epidemic with excessively large shipments of painkillers over several years.

The city of Huntington and Cabell County filed the lawsuit against drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

The trial is scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Charleston.

A judge last month rejected the companies’ attempt to dismiss the case.

West Virginia has the nation’s highest fatal opioid overdose rate.

In separate, similar lawsuits, the state reached settlements with McKesson in 2019 and with Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen in 2017.