Johnson & Johnson pays $574,000 to settle Kentucky consumer protection lawsuit

A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson will pay Kentucky $574,000 to settle allegations that it sold medicine in Kentucky that was manufactured in facilities that failed to meet safety standards, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear announced Wednesday.

The money will go to the state’s General Fund, which pays for most state programs.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by Beshear’s office against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare in Franklin Circuit Court.

“Through this settlement we are once again holding a drug company accountable for not only violating Kentucky’s consumer protection laws but for placing our families and children at risk by not following federal manufacturing safety standards,” Beshear said in the press release. “The judgment we are announcing today is an important step toward ensuring the safe manufacture and lawful marketing and promotion of over-the-counter drugs to all Kentuckians.”

McNeil manufactures and sells drugs such as Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph Aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids and Zyrtec. The questionable drugs were sold from 2009 to 2011, according to Beshear’s office. Many of them were recalled because they failed to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Johnson & Johnson pays $574,000 to settle Kentucky consumer protection lawsuit."