Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $572 Million in Oklahoma Opioid Case-verdict caps first case to go

y Sara Randazzo and Jared S. HopkinsUpdated Aug. 26, 2019 11:12 pm ET

An Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for contributing to the state’s opioid-addiction crisis, a verdict that could signal further findings of liability for drug companies as similar cases wind through courts across the country.

More than 2,000 cases brought by state and local municipalities seek to hold drugmakers, retail pharmacy chains and distributors accountable for widespread opioid abuse that began gaining public attention in the early 2000s. That flood of litigation coincides with intensifying..