Ulster Announces Opioid Lawsuit Settlement

KINGSTON, NY — Ulster County will receive more than $7.8 million as part of a statewide settlement between the county, Johnson & Johnson and other opioid companies.
The settlement funds will be used as part of the county's continued efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

County Executive Pat Ryan said the first payment in the $7,895,750 settlement is anticipated to be received in February and payments will continue over the course of the next 18 years.

Ryan said it was about time the pharmaceutical companies were held accountable for what they have done.

"I am going to continue to do everything in my power to seek justice for those who we have lost," he said. "Now more than ever it is critical that we do all we can to ramp up and prioritize combating the opioid epidemic."

Ulster County District Attorney Dave Clegg said his office will partner with the Ulster County sheriff and all of law enforcement to use the funds from the opioid settlement to prevent addiction, prevent the sale of drugs in the community and support recovery from addiction through drug court and diversion programs.

In 2020, largely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, opioid-related fatalities increased 94 percent in the county, resulting in a total of 64 deaths. This surge in opioid-related fatalities mirrors a nationwide trend.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this year that opioid-related fatalities reached the highest number ever recorded in more than a 12-month span. However, due to the count's extensive harm reduction efforts and interventions, the overdose-fatality rate dropped sharply from 20 percent in 2018 to 13.5 percent in 2020, according to a county spokesperson.

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