Orange County will get up to $3 million for toll of opioid crisis in first lawsuit deal

Sep. 7—GOSHEN — Orange County will get $1.3 million to $3 million from Johnson and Johnson through a partial settlement of the statewide lawsuit counties have waged against opioid makers for the deadly and costly epidemic their addictive painkillers unleashed.

County officials announced Orange's cut of the state-negotiated deal on Friday, saying the amount depends on how many other counties accept the terms and end their parts in the litigation. The more that do, the higher the amount.

The first payment from Johnson & Johnson is expected to come in February. Much of the funding must be used to combat the continued addiction toll through any of a litany of ways, including treatment and support services for drug users and pregnant women and mothers who have fought addiction.

"Opioid manufacturers and distributors knowingly allowed people to become addicted to their drugs, causing rather than reducing pain to families, communities, and the patients themselves," Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said in a statement. "These funds will not bring back loved ones lost to the opioid epidemic but will hopefully assist others in getting help with their opioid addictions."

Orange County can use part of its money for any government purposes, unrelated to the opioid crisis. No restrictions would apply to $644,000 of the $3 million payment from Johnson & Johnson if the county gets the full amount.

Statewide, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $99 million to $230 million, depending on how many counties approve the settlement. The state itself and counties are negotiating settlements with other opioid manufacturers named in the litigation as well, meaning they are likely to collect more payments beyond those that Johnson & Johnson offered.

Last year, 121 Orange County residents died from opioid overdoses, a 25% jump from the prior year that was attributed partly to the isolation and reduction in services for addicts during the pandemic. That increase — which mirrored a nationwide rise in deaths that year — marked a sad setback after fatal overdoses had dropped in Orange in 2019, for the first time in years.

Opioid deaths also jumped in neighboring counties in 2020, by 83% to 64 in Ulster and by 30% to 43 in Sullivan.

Orange County has lost 69 residents so far this year to opioid overdoses.

cmckenna@th-record.com

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