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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma is poised to become the first state to go to trial in a lawsuit against the makers of pharmaceuticals blamed for contributing to the nation's opioid crisis.
Although several states have reached settlements with drugmakers, including Oklahoma's agreements this year with OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceuticals, the trial set to begin Tuesday against consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson and some of its subsidiaries, could bring to light documents and testimony that show what companies knew, when they knew it and how they responded. The outcome could also shape negotiations on how to resolve the roughly 1,500 opioid lawsuits filed by state, local and tribal governments that have been consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio.
Here are some things to know about the Oklahoma trial:
— Oklahoma will be represented by three law firms that stand to earn up to 25 percent of any award, combined.
The firms netted nearly $60 million for their work negotiating the Purdue settlement.
— Although 13 companies were initially listed as defendants, pre-trial settlements have left Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, which produced opioid drugs including Nucynta and the fentanyl patch Duragesic.
— Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman, who is presiding in the case, is a former Republican state legislator appointed to the bench by former GOP Gov. Mary Fallin in 2013. Balkman, not a jury, will decide the case. He is allowing cameras in the courtroom, which is a rarity in Oklahoma.
— Oklahoma alleges that the drugmakers helped create a public health crisis in the state by extensively marketing highly addictive opioids for years in a way that overstated their effectiveness and underplayed the risk of addiction.
"The damage defendants' false and deceptive marketing campaigns caused to the state of Oklahoma is catastrophic," the lawsuit states.