In July of 2019, an Oklahoma judge made the Johnson & Johnson company pay $465 million in damages to the state of Oklahoma, as punitive damages for the opioid crisis.
This two-month bench trial (i.e., not a jury verdict) marked the first-ever trial in which arguments were made in open court regarding a pharmaceutical company’s supposed responsibility for cases of opioid addiction.
A group of private law firms worked with Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter to bring suit against a large number of drug companies, including Purdue Pharma. Johnson & Johnson was the only drug company to stay in the case by the time it made it to trial.
Between May and July of 2019, the courtroom of Judge Thad Balkman drew the attention of legal scholars and public health experts across the world.
The State of Oklahoma sought $17.5 billion in damages and was awarded $465 million. While the resulting dollar amount was significantly lower, the guilty verdict is a huge victory for public health advocates looking to make pharmaceutical conglomerates responsible for addictions and deaths due to prescription, opiate-based pain medications.
Cases against drug companies are in process across the United States, so this Oklahoma decision could be a watershed case with regards to holding private companies accountable for the opioid crisis.
The full video of the trial is available on the Courtroom View Network website.
2020 proves to be an interesting year in plaintiff trials regarding opioids. Now that the Oklahoma case has been decided, it may have a ripple effect across other similar cases in other states. If pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson can be found liable in class-action lawsuits, then there may be a bevy of similar outcomes across the country.
In Ohio there is a pending class action suit which Clements, Taylor, Butkovich & Cohen is involved in. If you had an addiction problem after taking medication manufactured by Purdue Pharma, please contact your attorney.