J&J ordered to pay $572m over ‘opioid epidemic’

A judge in Oklahoma on Monday ruled that Johnson & Johnson had intentionally downplayed the dangers and oversold the benefits of opioids, and ordered it to pay the state $572 million in the first trial of a drug manufacturer for the destruction wrought by prescription painkillers.
The amount fell short of the $17 billion judgment that Oklahoma had sought to pay for addiction treatment, drug courts and other services it said it would need over the next 20 years to repair the damage done by the opioid epidemic. Still, the decision heartened lawyers representing plaintiffs in many of the more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits pending across the country who are pursuing a legal strategy similar to Oklahoma’s. Judge Thad Balkman’s finding that Johnson & Johnson had breached the state’s “public nuisance” law was a significant aspect of the order.
In his ruling, Balkman wrote that Johnson & Johnson had promulgated “false, misleading, and dangerous marketing campaigns” that had “caused exponentially increasing rates of addiction, overdose deaths” and babies born exposed to opioids. Sabrina Strong, a lawyer for Johnson & Johnson, said, “We have many strong grounds for appeal and we intend to pursue those vigorously.”
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References

1. ^{^} Oklahoma (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
2. ^{^} opioids (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
3. ^{^} addiction treatment (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
4. ^{^} opioid epidemic (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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