Johnson & Johnson is offering to pay up to $5 billion to worm its way out of about 3,000 lawsuits accusing the company of improper marketing and sales of its opioids, which allegedly contributed to a national opioid epidemic, Law360 reports. The tentative deal is $1 billion more than what the company suggested last year and appears more likely to be accepted.
“This additional amount results from continued negotiations and is intended to maximize participation in the settlement,” Johnson & Johnson announced as part of its quarterly earnings report.
Most of the lawsuits are rolled up into multidistrict litigation (MDL) made up of local governments and Native American tribes, though the company also faces similar opioid lawsuits from dozens of states. It’s not known which parties have signed on to the settlement.
The lawsuits zero in on the company’s fentanyl patch, Duragesic, the tapentadol drug Nucynta and the raw materials and active ingredients used to make a variety of opioids. Johnson & Johnson is among several opioid manufacturers and distributors hit with lawsuits from local governments over its marketing and sale of highly addictive opioids.
This is far from the only litigation the consumer goods giant faces. On Oct. 5, the company agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle more than 1,000 lawsuits accusing the company’s iconic Johnson’s Baby Powder and other talcum powder products of containing cancer-causing asbestos and other impurities and causing consumers to develop ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
Opioid Lawsuits
Lawyers in Beasley Allen’s Toxic Torts Section are representing local governments holding opioid companies accountable for overdose deaths and economic damages in their communities caused by this crisis.
Talc and Ovarian Cancer Lawyers
Beasley Allen lawyers continue to investigate new cases involving women diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using talcum powder for feminine hygiene. For additional information on these cases, contact Ted Meadows, Leigh O’Dell or Brittany Scott.
