According to legal experts, it will be difficult to assign blame in the opioid litigation because opioids pass through so many different entities before they reach a patient, such as pharmaceutical companies, medical supply wholesalers, doctors and pharmacies, including big-box retailers.
The medication has been approved by the federal government. In addition, it is extremely difficult to establish a nexus between corporate entities and the significant illegal trafficking of opioids.
Johnson & Johnson was found liable for $465 million by an Oklahoma state judge presiding over a 2019 bench trial, but the decision is currently on appeal.
An initial $5 billion settlement proposal was made in July, and plaintiffs in tens of thousands of cases have yet to give their blessing. Because their trial was still ongoing, the California plaintiffs declined to participate at the time.
Even though Judge Wilson’s decision is referred to as “tentative,” it is actually final. This is just one of many state cases that have been filed, and the plaintiffs have already stated that they intend to appeal.
Californians will have an opportunity to pursue justice on appeal and ensure that no opioid manufacturer can engage in reckless corporate practises that compromise public health in the state for their own profit, the lawyers said in a statement.
After Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy and restructuring, the first defendant in the case was dropped.
The remaining parties in the case expressed their joy at the decision.
There will be a “clear win” for opioid addicts if “comprehensive settlements are completed and resources are made available to all who need them,” Teva said in a statement.
There is currently a jury trial in New York for the first opioids case in which Teva, Endo, and Allergan are all defendants. In a federal court in Ohio, a jury is deciding the fate of pharmacy chains.
A federal judge has yet to render a decision in a bench trial that local West Virginia governments recently completed against distributors. The trial of Johnson & Johnson in Washington State is set for early next year.
It was Janssen Pharmaceutical’s actions in marketing and promotion of its important prescription pain medications that were deemed appropriate and responsible by Johnson & Johnson, and they did not cause any public nuisance.
Johnson & Johnson referred to Janssen as the pharmaceutical division that produced the opioids.
