The recent cleanup and attention on healthier communities are much more progressive with involvement from a drug manufacturer. The progress in addressing a community issue is part of the efforts to improve a sporadic health challenge nationally. While avoiding a federal civil trial, Johnson and Johnson will pay Cuyahoga and Summit counties $20.4M to help fight the opioid epidemic. Before the settlement, this was seen as a non-issue by many Americans. With this agreement, the drug manufacturer will pay the counties $10 million in cash, cover $5 million for the localities legal expenses and donate $5.4 million to the area’s local nonprofit groups fighting the opioid epidemic.
Avoiding an expensive federal civil trial is one of the reasons the pharmaceutical giant has reached this settlement. Both Johnson and Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals can avoid liability with this settlement. This allows the company to avoid some of the demands for resources and uncertainty of a trial. Helping to address the nation’s opioid crisis is making progress as the company is now working in a collaborative way to help people in need. The efforts are focusing on having the healthiest communities and the cooperation is nice for the two Ohio counties. The collaboration between counties might also provide innovative community solutions to benefit many others. The avoidance of Opioid issues is also helpful for states around Ohio and throughout the nation. Serving the constituents of the areas with these types of solutions are also hopeful as nation-wide remedies at some point.
There are more than 2,500 counties, cities and others involved with the numerous lawsuits. The complaint blamed nearly two dozen drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and distributors for being a part of triggering the opioid epidemic with prescriptions for pain medication that were considered highly addictive. The efforts on a state basis are also including Oklahoma with a court order for the company to pay $572 million for being a part of the opioid epidemic in that state. Although the company is appealing this ruling, the current focus on state repairs for the epidemic are supporting healthy communities with nonprofit involvement. Supporters see that the spending allocations and commitments to work towards solutions are helpful on a nation-wide basis.
