TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - A New Jersey legal reform group is pointing at a recent study that shows Johnson & Johnson is the most sued company in the state.
The results of the study, conducted by Law360.com, show 63 active lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and point to a need for reform, the New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance says. Ninety-three percent of mass tort litigation against the state's pharmaceutical companies comes from out-of-state plaintiff, the group says.
"New Jersey's premier industry has become the premier target for trial lawyers," NJLRA executive director Marcus Rayner said, noting that New Jersey-based companies Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and Sanofi-Aventis are also in the top 10.
"New Jersey worked hard to establish itself as the nation's 'Medicine Chest,' and our medicine chest is now ailing from abusive litigation. The report underscores our need for reform to New Jersey's civil justice laws before the cost of inaction becomes too great for us to bear and we become known as the nation's 'personal injury state' instead."
Litigation hurts the state's industry and workforce, the group says.
The list is based on the number of lawsuits filed in New Jersey federal courts.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.