New York Files Opioid Lawsuit Against J&J
New York’s Department of Financial Services filed suit against Johnson & Johnson on September 17, 2020. The suit alleges significant insurance fraud related to Johnson & Johnson’s negligent promotion of opioids despite the company knowing the risks the drugs posed.
The suit joins another high profile opioid case from the New York Attorney General’s office against Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen pharmaceutical subsidiary, among other giants in the industry. That suit similarly alleges the company “deliberately betrayed” their duty to prevent the misuse of addictive opioids through a “persistent course of fraudulent and illegal misconduct in order to profiteer from the plague they knew would be unleashed”. The court date for this suit continues to be delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though much of the evidence for both suits overlaps, primarily focusing on the fraudulent marketing of Nucynta and Duragesic to prescribing doctors and elderly patients, the Department of Financial Services case quantifies the cost of these drugs to insurers and the insured.
“From 2007 to 2014, for example, private insurance claims related to opioid dependence diagnoses rose more than 3000% nationally, and nearly 500% in New York State. Over just the past 10 years, the dramatic rise in additional claims paid by commercial health insurers in the State of New York as a direct result of the opioid crisis led to, in turn, New York consumers of commercial health insurance overpaying an estimated $1.8 billion in premiums.” The suit argues these costs are directly related to Johnson & Johnson’s misrepresentation of the addictiveness of their products. The company effectively used addiction to ensure a pipeline of never ending consumers.
The alleged misrepresentation of the drugs violated two New York insurance laws. The laws carry fines of $5000 per violation, and the state hopes to recover $2 billion from Johnson & Johnson.
Resources Cited In This Article:
New York State Department of Financial Services: Statement of Charges and Notice of Hearing
New York Attorney General's Lawsuit
N.Y. postpones opioid bellwether trial as novel coronavirus concerns spread
NY regulator sues Johnson & Johnson for insurance fraud over opioid claims
New York Charges J&J with Civil Insurance Fraud in Opioid Industry Probe
