Johnson & Johnson agreed a $20.4 million settlement over allegedly fueling the opioid addiction crisis in Ohio (AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON) |
Washington (AFP) - US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced it had reached a $20.4 million settlement to avoid a much-anticipated trial in Ohio for allegedly fueling the opioid addiction crisis.
Several
drugmakers have agreed deals ahead of the trial, due to open this month, which
is seen as a national test case for many billions of dollars in settlements.
Millions of
Americans sunk into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers that
companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades.
The Johnson
& Johnson agreement was with two Ohio counties ravaged by the opioid crisis
-- Cuyahoga and Summit.
The
settlement "resolves all of the counties' claims with no admission of
liability and removes the company from the federal trial," Johnson &
Johnson said in a statement.
The company
added it wanted to avoid the "uncertainty of a trial" and said it
continues "to seek meaningful progress in addressing the nation's opioid
crisis."
In August,
an Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million in damages
for its role in fostering opioid addiction.
The company
was accused of aggressive promotion of prescription painkillers and downplaying
or hiding risk of addiction.
The US
opioid epidemic has caused hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths.
Thousands
of lawsuits have been lodged by states, cities, towns and Native American
tribes seeking money to pay for overwhelmed health and social systems, families
unable to care for themselves, and babies born addicted to the drugs.
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