Oklahoma judge corrects his math error, lowers J&J opioid payment by $107M

Maia Anderson -

An Oklahoma judge lowered the amount Johnson & Johnson has to pay the state for its role in the opioid crisis by $107 million, according to The Washington Post.

In August, the drugmaker was ordered by Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman to pay Oklahoma $572 million for its role in fueling the opioid crisis. At a hearing in October, the judge said he made a mathematical error in calculating how much J&J should have to pay and would correct it. He did when he finalized the order Nov. 15.

Now, J&J must pay Oklahoma $465 million to help clean up a year's worth of damage from the opioid crisis.

The judge rejected a request from Oklahoma to assess whether J&J should have to make more payments to the state in the future, saying the state didn't present enough evidence to justify the additional payments, according to The Washington Post.

Oklahoma claims it will cost more than $17 billion over 30 years to clean up the damage from the opioid crisis.

The judge also denied a request to lower J&J's payment even further to take into account Oklahoma's settlements with Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

J&J still is appealing the original verdict against it in the nonjury trial, according to The Washington Post.

Read the full article here.

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