Johnson & Johnson and other drug companies facing thousands of lawsuits over their role in the opioid epidemic have warned that settlement talks will be “severely” jeopardized if plaintiffs’ lawyers are allowed to assess a fee payment worth billions of … Source: Claims Journal

German drugs and pesticides company Bayer was at pains on Thursday to quell expectations it was nearing an out-of-court settlement laying to rest claims its glyphosate-based cause cancer. Bayer said after publishing its earnings outlook for 2020 it was in … Source: Claims Journal

The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing child abuse lawsuits that resulted in financial uncertainty. New York State passed legislation in January 2019 that modified the statute of limitations on child abuse claims, allowing … Source: Claims Journal

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a Florida jury to pay $9 million to an 82-year-old woman who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for her cancer, the latest court loss for the company in U.S. litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors … Source: Claims Journal

California regulators increased penalties against PG&E Corp. to $2.1 billion for violations tied to the catastrophic wildfires ignited by the company’s power lines in 2017 and 2018. The penalty would be the largest ever imposed by the California Public Utilities … Source: Claims Journal

You wouldn’t know it from news coverage in the aftermath of Texas hailstorms or Florida hurricanes, but U.S. homeowner insurers are doing a better job than ever of pleasing their customers when responding to claims, according to J.D. Power. Results … Source: Claims Journal

Instead of blocking hackers, a new cybersecurity defense approach developed by University of Texas at Dallas computer scientists actually welcomes them. The method, called DEEP-Dig (DEcEPtion DIGging), ushers intruders into a decoy site so the computer can learn from hackers’ … Source: Claims Journal

BISMARCK, N.D. — A new program designed to streamline required oilfield safety training in North Dakota has drawn thousands of people, but some say the training is redundant and time-consuming. More than 16,000 people have participated in the One Basin-One … Source: Claims Journal

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worried that an earthquake could collapse a big dam south of San Francisco, officials have ordered its reservoir to be completely drained by October to reduce the risk of floodwaters spilling into Silicon Valley. The 240-foot … Source: Claims Journal

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The newly appointed U.S. official charged with overseeing disaster recovery in Puerto Rico said Tuesday that while the pace of federally funded projects to help hurricane and earthquake victims has quickened, he’s worried about long … Source: Claims Journal