Johnson & Johnson settles opioid lawsuit with Washington State, agrees to pay millions

SEATTLE — Johnson & Johnson settled out of court and agreed to pay $123.34 million after Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in 2020 for their alleged involvement in fueling the opioid crisis.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that a settlement was reached and will keep Johnson & Johnson out of court.

“We stood up to some of the world’s largest corporations that fueled the epidemic in pursuit of profit – and we won more than $1 billion that will help communities recover from the opioid crisis,” Ferguson said. “My team continues to hold these corporations accountable and deliver critical resources that must be used to improve treatment options, support first responders, and address the crisis impacting every community.”

The money received will be evenly distributed to state and local governments, in alignment with the state’s Opioid Response Plan, and must be used to combat the opioid epidemic.

The Attorney General’s Office is currently in litigation with two other pharmacy chains also accused of contributing to the crisis.

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