Johnson & Johnson Opioid Trial To Begin In Oklahoma, Could Set Precedent
Johnson & Johnson is the sole defendant in the case after two other companies — Teva Pharmaceuticals and Purdue Pharma — both settled with the state before the trial began.
In opening statements,
Hunter said the flood of opioid medications was the “worst manmade public health crisis in the history of our state and country.” He said evidence would show that over 4,000 Oklahomans had died of overdoses from prescription opioids between 2007 and 2017.
State’s attorney Brad Beckworth
speaks during the opening statements during the opioid trial in Norman, Okla., Tuesday.
The proceeding are the first public trial to emerge from roughly 2,000 U.S. lawsuits aimed at holding drug companies accountable for the nation’s opioid crisis.
He argued that Johnson & Johnson created that oversupply, and that its drug representatives pushed opioids into the state and encouraged doctors to prescribe them.
Johnson & Johnson should be responsible for cleaning up the mess, the state claimed.
NPR