J&J To Pay $230M In NY Opioid Lawsuits Settlement

Introduction

An Attorney general announced a $230 million settlement between Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and New York state and two Long Island counties where the opioid manufacturer has agreed to discontinue the nationwide opioid sale.

The decision was made considering the larger global settlement, which is still in talks among the parties. The settlement has prevented the opioid manufacturer from facing an upcoming trial to begin in Long Island.

The Attorney General stated that the opioid epidemic has resulted in chaos throughout the country by affecting countless communities across New York State and the rest of the nation. He stated the addictive drug, which is very dangerous and deadly, affected millions of individuals in the U.S. and held J&J as the prime culprit for fuelling the epidemic. The manufacturers promised to discontinue the sale of opioids across the nation, which will eventually help to end the opioids epidemic.

Suffolk and Nassau are the two Long Island counties involved in the settlement that would be paid over nine years. The counsel for Suffolk County stated that it completely supports the agreement, as the funds received from the settlement will be helpful to address the devastating effects on the opioid-affected areas.

Another two opioid epidemic bench trials are ongoing in California state court and West Virginia federal court. In 2019, J&J lost the first opioid trial in Oklahoma state court as the judge ruled a $465 million verdict considering that the manufacturer created a public nuisance by deceptive marketing. Earlier in a California trial, the drug companies blamed OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP for the epidemic.

An official of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will give a key testimony in the trial, and the manufacturers of opioids have appealed to the court to refrain from it based on him being a federal official. However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo stating that the FDA official's testimony can be considered.

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