Walgreens settles lawsuit with Theranos patients for $44 million
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Walgreens settled a lawsuit with Theranos patients in September. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Walgreens settled a class action lawsuit on Sept. 6 with Theranos customers for $44 million, per court documents.
Why it matters: Walgreens patients in Arizona and California who received fraudulent blood tests will be refunded for products that did not work, following prison sentences for the company's executives.
- Walgreens did not admit any fault in the court filings.
Context: The class action lawsuit dated back to 2016 after evidence surfaced that the company could not conduct tests on a few drops of blood.
- The new settlement supersedes a confidential agreement from May.
- Theranos, Inc. previously reached a confidential settlement in 2017 with Walgreens, who dismissed a lawsuit.
- The case involved 7.8 million pages of documents, 26 fact witness depositions and six expert depositions, according to court documents.
How it works: Each eligible plaintiff will be reimbursed for double the cost of the original tests they received from fall 2013 to mid-2016 plus a base payment of $10.
- People who received "tiny" blood draws at Walgreens Theranos Wellness Centers from November 2013 to March 2015 will receive an additional payment estimated between $700 $1,000 in response to battery and medical battery claims.
- Payouts will deduct reimbursements received from Theranos directly after the company agreed to pay $4.64 million to cover the costs of tests bought by Arizonians.
Catch up quick: Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison in November 2022 for defrauding investors in the failed blood testing company.
- Holmes' former boyfriend and business partner Sunny Balwani was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison that December after being found guilty of conspiracy and fraud.
- The company raised about $1 billion from investors.
- "Once promising to revolutionize health care and claiming a $9 billion valuation, Theranos collapsed spectacularly following a series of disclosures about the company and its technology," court documents said.
What's next: A judge has to issue a final approval for the agreement.
- Customers must be notified via publication in the Arizona Republic, digital notice on social media and on the internet, a settlement website and a toll-free number.
Go deeper: In Theranos' shadow, blood testing startup Vital Biosciences collects $48M
