The jury was elected Teva PharmaceuticalsThe state attorney general ruled that the defendants were responsible for their contribution to the opioid crisis.

According to Attorney General Letitia Jam’s office, the Suffolk County jury found that the company had played a part in what was legally called a “public nuisance” but with deadly consequences.

James (a Democrat) stated in a release that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and others, had misled American citizens about the real dangers associated with opioids. Today we have taken a substantial step to correct the many wrongs the country has endured over the past 20 years.

Teva’s lawyer and the staff of the judge were contacted with messages seeking comments.

Teva was the remaining manufacturing defendant in the lawsuit after other parties had reached settlement agreements. In December, Allergan Finance reached a settlement.

Teva and Anda, the local drug distributor company were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Suffolk County on Long Island.

Deliberations began Dec. 14 and were halted for Christmas.

In connection with the opioid crisis, thousands of lawsuits were filed. These included entities such as state and local governments and Native American tribes. In the United States, the opioid crisis is responsible for more than 500k deaths over the past two decades.

Only a handful of cases have reached verdicts, and there is no consensus as to the outcome.

A judge in Oklahoma ruled against a drugmaker Johnson & JohnsonIn 2019, however, the Supreme Court of the State overturned this decision in November.

The November ruling by a California court was in favor of drugmakers. In Cleveland, the federal judge agreed with Ohio County governments that they had brought claims against chain pharmacies.

Although a West Virginia judge has ruled on a case that has already been tried, a West Virginia trial remains open. A Washington trial is also ongoing. Many other cases are awaiting trial.

Also, there have been settlements. Some of the biggest industry names like distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson and drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals have reached nationwide settlements with a cumulative value potentially well over $30 billion. The epidemic is the main focus of most of the funds.

Most of the deals were not finalized and there was one huge reversal. Mid-December saw a federal judge reject OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s important deal to settle thousands more lawsuits about the use of opioids.