Attorney Jeffrey B. Simon Secures $1.8 Billion Opioid Settlement for All Texans

DALLAS, Feb. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey B. Simon, a lead negotiator in Texas' ongoing opioid multidistrict litigation (MDL), announced that he and a committee of trial lawyers, along with the Office of the Texas Attorney General, have reached a historic $1.8 billion settlement for Texas. A $1.775 billion cash award will reimburse local governments and the State of Texas and resource an intensive harm reduction program to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic. An additional $75 million of NARCAN® Nasal Spray, a life-saving drug that can reverse opioid overdose when administered in time, will be distributed across the state.

The settlements were executed with several drug companies in the opioid supply chain: Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Teva Pharmaceuticals and AmerisourceBergen. Some of the settlement monies have already been paid; others will be paid according to an agreed schedule. 15 percent of funds will go to the State of Texas, 15 percent will be paid to individual cities and counties throughout Texas, and 70 percent of the monies will be placed in an abatement fund that is managed by the Texas State Comptroller's Office and distributed through grant approval by the Texas Opioid Council. Simon's work has ensured that monies from settlements in opioid litigation will be used almost exclusively to fund opioid-related efforts rather than be expended for unrelated or untargeted purposes.

"This historic settlement provides immense help and hope for Texans suffering from the opioid epidemic, and this outcome was made possible only by holding pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors financially accountable for their misconduct in glutting Texas communities with prescription opioids in amounts far beyond any legitimate medical purpose," said Simon. "These results underscore how important the civil justice system, and particularly the right to trial by jury, are in providing an opportunity to remedy harms inflicted by powerful industries upon ordinary people. Only through the work of trial judges, their staff, and juries comprised of committed citizens, do we as a community have a forum to resolve legal disputes of this enormous magnitude on their actual merits. I am also very gratified to see how trial lawyers, healthcare professionals, and public servants across a broad political spectrum found true common purpose and worked together in this resolution process on behalf of all Texans."

About Jeffrey B. Simon

Jeffrey B. Simon is a lead negotiator in legal proceedings that seek to hold prescription opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors responsible for their role in the nationwide opioid epidemic. He is a founding partner of Simon Greenstone Panatier, PC, which specializes in representing victims in complex medical cases, and has been recognized repeatedly by his peers for his excellence in trial law. He has been named a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly each year for 17 years as well as an America's Top 100 Civil Trial Lawyer for five years, and currently co-chairs the Perrin National Opioid Litigation Conference. His podcast about the nationwide opioid crisis, "Outside Counsel," will begin airing in spring 2022. For more information, visit www.jeffreybsimon.com.

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SOURCE Jeffrey B. Simon