Juul Lawsuit Settlement

There have been multiple Juul settlements meant to resolve allegations of e-cigarette side effects and that Juul contributed to the teen vaping epidemic. Data shows that one Juul vape pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, making them highly addictive.

The most recent Juul settlement occurred in March 2023. The e-cigarette maker agreed to pay $23.8 million to the city of Chicago to resolve claims that Juul sold vaping products to underage users and used deceptive marketing. 

In January 2023, California judge gave preliminary approval of a $255 million settlement to resolve economic loss claims. Plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claimed they would have paid less or not bought Juul products if the company had not misrepresented its e-cigarettes. In December 2022, the company agreed to settle about 5,000 cases that involve 10,000 individual plaintiffs. In September 2022, prior to the December settlement, the e-cigarette maker agreed to pay millions to settle claims from 34 states and territories.

These settlements come after a brief nationwide U.S. Food and Drug Administration Juul ban in June 2022. Juul sued the FDA, and the agency has put the ban on hold, but it has not rescinded it. The FDA said it’s reviewing more data before it makes a final decision.

In total, Juul is set to pay roughly $1.7 billion in total settlements as of December 2022, according to several news sources such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. When the settlement was first announced, Juul declined to share the settlement amount. News sources reported on the amount by consulting sources close to the litigation.

This amount includes approximately $1.2 billion in payments to settle claims from about 10,000 plaintiffs. In September 2022, prior to making the December deal to settle individual suits, the vape giant agreed to settle claims from 34 states for about $438.5 million.

These settlements will “put meaningful compensation in hands of victims and their families,” plaintiffs’ attorneys told AP. The settlements will also fund anti-vaping campaigns for schools and local governments.

An e-cigarette lawsuit can take three or more years to settle. Some individual plaintiffs first filed their lawsuits in 2019, including the parents of 18-year-old David Wakefield who had been vaping since he was 15. Wakefield’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in California that claimed Juul’s products were to blame for their son’s death.

The $1.2 billion settlement Juul announced in December 2022 is meant to cover lawsuits filed by individuals and families such as the Wakefields. As of March 2023, there were 5,969 pending lawsuits in multidistrict litigation in California. Most of these cases are a part of the settlement.

Massachusetts was the first state to file a lawsuit against Juul in 2018. Soon other states filed similar lawsuits, claiming the e-cigarette maker illegally targeted minors in its marketing campaigns. The states conducted a two-year investigation, and it wasn’t until September 2022 that Juul offered to settle.

If you or a loved one vaped and suffered from serious e-cigarette side effects or nicotine addiction, you may qualify to file a lawsuit for an e-cigarette settlement.

Lawyers are accepting injury claims from people who suffered serious health problems after using Juul or after the vaporizer exploded or caught fire. People may qualify for addiction lawsuits if they used Juul prior to November 2018 and were under 18 years of age when they became addicted. Parents or guardians may file on behalf of children or teens.

The first step to qualifying is to speak with a lawyer and get a free case evaluation. Lawyers only take their fees and costs if they obtain a settlement or jury verdict. Only a lawyer can tell you if you qualify.

Before talking with a lawyer, make sure you have any medical records or receipts. The lawyer will talk with you about your experience with e-cigarettes and any losses you or a loved one may have suffered.

E-cigarette settlement amounts are determined by factors that include past and future medical costs, lost wages, seriousness of injury, lost quality of life and others. These settlements may also factor in pain and suffering.

If there are bellwether jury verdicts, these amounts may also factor into the final amount of a global settlement.

E-cigarette settlements to states or government entities include the cost of vaping prevention and education. They also factor in the amount of money states may have had to pay to provide health care and addiction programs to help people affected by e-cigarettes.