Which pharmaceutical company has the biggest lawsuit in history?

Asked by: Prof. Gennaro Deckow PhD  |  Last update: April 14, 2026
Score: 4.6/5 (60 votes)

Purdue Pharma holds the dubious distinction of being forced to pay the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history. A bipartisan coalition of 15 states and other parties reached a $7.4 billion settlement with members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, Inc.

What is the largest lawsuit in pharmaceutical history?

1. GlaxoSmithKline – $3 Billion. In 2012, GlaxoSmithKline paid the largest pharmaceutical lawsuit in United States history – a total of $3 billion.

What medical company has the biggest lawsuit?

Purdue Pharma and owners to pay $7.4 billion in settlement of lawsuits over OxyContin Members of the family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, and the company itself, agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion in a new settlement to lawsuits over the toll of the prescription painkiller.

What company has the biggest lawsuit in history?

1. Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement – $206 Billion. In the 1990s, more than 40 states sued big tobacco companies for the health care costs linked to smoking.

What is the biggest lawsuit against Pfizer?

Pfizer Inc. will pay $2.3 billion in a massive settlement of civil and criminal charges for illegally promoting prescription drugs for unapproved indications and bribing physicians with kickbacks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on September 2.

The Birth of the Pharmaceutical Industry

18 related questions found

Has Pfizer ever been convicted of a crime?

Jeanne Lenzer. Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, pleaded guilty on 13 May to numerous civil and criminal charges for illegally promoting the off-label use of gabapentin (Neurontin). It has agreed to pay a $240m (£136m; €200m) criminal fine and $152m to state and federal healthcare programmes.

What is the most ridiculous lawsuit?

The Year's Most Ridiculous Lawsuits

  • Woman Sues FedEx for “Negligently” Leaving a Package on Her Doorstep that She Tripped Over.
  • North Carolina Police Officer Sues Starbucks for Spilled Hot Coffee. ...
  • Woman Files Suit for Injuries Incurred from a Flying Dinner Roll.
  • Woman Fakes Coffee Burns in an Attempt to Sue McDonald's.

Who is the most sued person in history?

Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted fraudster known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts. Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea bargain.

What is the largest lawsuit ever won?

1998 – The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement – $206 Billion. The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement was entered in November 1998 and is still the largest lawsuit settlement in history.

Who owns OxyContin now?

Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, started manufacturing the powerful painkiller OxyContin in the mid-1990s.

Which pharmaceutical company is the most ethical?

Top 5 Ethical Pharmaceuticals Companies

  • Novartis.
  • Abbott Laboratories.
  • Sanofi.
  • GlaxoSmithKline.
  • Merck.

What is the richest medical company?

Ranked: The Top 50 Pharmaceutical Giants

With a market cap of over $578 billion, American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is the world's most valuable, known for diabetes medications and its newly-launched weight-loss drug.

Is the OxyContin lawsuit still going on?

Judge formally approves opioid settlement for Purdue Pharma and Sackler family members who own the company. A federal bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday formally approved OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harms of opioids.

What is the highest selling pharmaceutical drug in the world?

Leading pharmaceutical drugs worldwide H1 2025, by sales

Keytruda was the world's top-selling pharmaceutical drug in the first half of 2025, generating 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in global sales.

What is the hardest lawsuit to win?

A: Crimes against minors, white collar crimes, and first-degree murder are sometimes the hardest cases to defend. Due to the intricacy of the evidence, emotional prejudice, public opinion, and the seriousness of the possible penalties, these cases pose substantial obstacles.

Which profession gets sued the most?

Medical specialty

In general, surgical specialties are at highest risk and internal medicine subspecialties are at lowest risk. Obstetricians/gynecologists (ob-gyns), general surgeons, other surgeons and orthopedic surgeons are at highest risk of being sued during their careers.

What is the longest lawsuit in history?

Introduction. Myra Clark Gaines' 19th century fight over an enormous inheritance is still the longest-running civil lawsuit in American history, taking over 60 years to finally find some kind of resolution. The United States Supreme Court called her case "the most remarkable in the records."

What is the dumbest thing someone has been sued for?

McDonald's Hot Coffee

One of the most famously ridiculous lawsuits happened in 1994, when a woman sued McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on her lap. McDonald's attempted to argue that everyone knows coffee is hot, and it was her own fault for spilling coffee all over herself.

What's the easiest lawsuit to win?

Generally, dog bite cases (in strict liability states) and clear-liability car accidents are the easiest lawsuits to win. These cases often have straightforward evidence, clear negligence, and well-established laws backing plaintiffs.

What celebrity sued for $1?

Nah, Gwyneth Paltrow 's motivation to go to trial to fight a lawsuit accusing her of sending a fellow skier “absolutely flying” at a posh Utah ski resort in 2016 was about vindication. She got it when a jury found her not at fault in the collision, granting her exactly the $1 she sought in her countersuit.

Is Pfizer COVID vaccine no longer authorized?

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is no longer authorized for children ages 6 months–4 years. The only FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine available for this age group is Moderna (Spikevax).

How much money did Pfizer make off of COVID vaccines?

Total sales of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine surpassed $80 billion, and more than 400 million doses of the shot and subsequent boosters have been administered in the U.S. alone.

What is the largest settlement in US history?

The result was the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, a monumental $206 billion settlement, marking it as the largest in U.S. history. The case aimed to cover the medical costs for affected smokers and sought to hold the tobacco giants accountable for their misleading advertising and unethical practices.