$99 million settlement with Janssen over opioids

(KYMA, KECY/ CNN) - Janssen Pharmaceuticals has reached a $99 million settlement for the company's alleged role in West Virginia's opioid crisis.

That state's attorney general claimed the pharmaceutical giant, and its parent company Johnson & Johnson, persuaded doctors to prescribe opioids more frequently, saying that they were safe and more effective than other drugs.

Attorneys say this helped spike opioid use for chronic pain issues, eventually leading to a rise in fatal overdoses.

This settlement is subject to approval from the state's political subdivisions and cities and counties will get a lump sum payment.