J&J ordered to pay $572m for aiding US opioid crisis

An Oklahoma judge on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572.1 million to the state for its part in fueling an opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers, a sum that was substantially less than investors had expected. The state's attorney general had filed the lawsuit, seeking $17 billion to address the impact of the drug crisis on Oklahoma. It had been considered a bellwether for other litigation nationwide over the opioid epidemic. J&J said it would appeal the decision. Opioids were involved in almost 400,000 overdose deaths from 1999 to 2017, according to data. Roughly 2,500 lawsuits have been brought seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for opioid abuse nationwide.