EXPLAINER: Where do US opioid trials, settlements stand?

By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press

A trial on whether pharmacy chain Walgreens bears responsibility for the opioid crisis started Monday in Florida on the heels of opening statements last week in another opioid trial in West Virginia. The cases are pressing ahead even as companies have been settling many of the claims filed by state and local governments across the U.S. Going to trial brings risk for both sides. If the suing governments win, they could get major payments. But rulings for the companies could help bolster their cases that they shouldn’t be held liable for a complicated epidemic linked to the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans over two decades.