MONDAY, Aug. 26, 2019 -- An Oklahoma judge on Monday ruled against one of America's biggest companies, Johnson & Johnson -- fining it $572 million as part of the first trial of anmaker sued by a state for the human and financial costs of the prescription painkiller crisis.
The verdict could have huge implications as other states and communities target pharmaceutical firms for the epidemic of opioid abuse that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States since 2000. Over 2,000 lawsuits on the issue are aimed at various drug companies. Oklahoma has accused Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, of creating a public nuisance that cost the state billions of dollars and caused thousands of deaths. Johnson & Johnson has denied any wrongdoing.Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman released his decision Monday afternoon.
"The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," Balkman, of Cleveland County District Court, said in delivering his decision,"We've shown that J&J was at the root cause of this opioid crisis," Brad Beckworth, the lead attorney for the state, told the."It made billions of dollars from it over a 20-year period. They've always denied responsibility and yet at the same time they say they want to make a difference in solving this problem.
were written in a state with a population of just under 4 million people. And he added that since 2000, opioid drug overdoses have claimed the lives of about 6,000 Oklahomans.
J & J didn't do this , 90 percent of opioids come in from other countries illegaly
alhuraysi55
This is big!
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