Washington To Receive $518 in Settlement From Lawsuit Against Opioid Distributors

The nation's three largest opioid distributors will pay the State of Washington more than half a billion dollars to settle a lawsuit accusing them of fueling the opioid epidemic.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the deal Tuesday, saying the sum is almost $50 million more than Washington would have received in a national settlement with the distributors.

Most of the money will be used to fight the opioid crisis in Washington, including services for people struggling with addiction.

The settlement still must be approved by a judge and numerous cities in the state who brought their own cases against the distributors — McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp.

The settlement with Washington totals $518 million, with more than $476 million to be directed toward addressing the opioid epidemic.

Ferguson said the state's choice to pursue its own lawsuit against the companies resulted in an additional $46 million in its settlement,

“We could have joined the overwhelming majority of states and settled with the largest opioid distributors, but we chose to fight them in court instead,” Ferguson said. “That decision to take them to court will result in significant additional resources for Washington to combat the opioid epidemic."

The three companies announced earlier this year that they'd reached an agreement with 46 states to pay them nearly $20 billion over 18 years.

The national settlement includes Johnson & Johnson, which Washington will be going to court against separately in September.