Troy Rafferty’s Major Legal Victories: A Spotlight on Landmark Settlements and Verdicts

Troy Rafferty, a shareholder at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, has built a stellar career as one of the nation’s top litigators. His track record of securing significant settlements and verdicts speaks to his expertise and commitment to justice. 

Here is a sample of Troy Rafferty’s verdicts and settlements in the news over the years. To learn more about Troy Rafferty’s verdicts and settlements, please contact us today.

Troy Rafferty played a crucial role in securing the historic $26 billion opioid settlement in 2021. 

This settlement involved major pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson and drug distributors like AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. The settlement aimed to resolve more than 3,000 lawsuits filed by states, counties, and local governments, alleging that these companies fueled the opioid crisis by aggressively marketing opioid painkillers and failing to prevent their widespread misuse.

Rafferty worked as part of the National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs' Executive Committee. This team of lawyers, representing over 3,000 communities, spent years advocating for a comprehensive settlement that addressed the nationwide scope of the opioid epidemic. Their efforts ensured that the settlement funds would be directed to communities hardest hit by the crisis, to be used for opioid treatment, prevention, and education programs. The settlement required significant collaboration between state and local governments to ensure a uniform solution, avoiding piecemeal efforts that could have left some communities vulnerable.

This case was one of the largest settlements in U.S. history related to the pharmaceutical industry, and it marked a significant step in holding companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic while providing much-needed resources for affected communities.

Troy Rafferty played a critical role in securing a $20 million compensation package for survivors of abuse at the Dozier School for Boys and the Okeechobee School for Boys, two state-run reform schools infamous for their brutal treatment of young boys. 

The settlement, signed into law in 2024, was a result of a long-fought legal and legislative campaign, spanning over 16 years, to bring justice to the survivors who had endured physical, sexual, and psychological abuse between the 1940s and 1970s.

Rafferty, alongside other attorneys, worked closely with survivors and state lawmakers, such as Rep. Michelle Salzman, to push for the passage of this legislation. The compensation package not only offers financial restitution but also includes provisions for awarding high school diplomas to former students who missed out on education due to their time at these institutions. Rafferty’s efforts were instrumental in convincing lawmakers of the urgency of the issue, highlighting the horrors faced by the boys, including beatings with a 20-inch mallet that left lifelong physical and emotional scars.

This settlement is seen as a landmark victory, bringing long-overdue acknowledgment and some measure of justice to those affected, although many survivors stress that no amount of money can truly compensate for the trauma they endured.

In 2012, Troy Rafferty, alongside Seeger Weiss partner David Buchanan, secured an $18 million verdict for two plaintiffs, Katie Rossitto and Riley Wilkinson, former users of the acne medication Accutane. 

Both plaintiffs developed ulcerative colitis, a debilitating gastrointestinal disease, as a result of using the drug. The New Jersey jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, determining that Hoffman-La Roche, the drug's manufacturer, failed to adequately warn users about the risks of the medication. This case was part of a broader series of lawsuits against Accutane. 

In July 2017, a federal jury in Chicago awarded $150 million in punitive damages in a case against AbbVie, the pharmaceutical company behind AndroGel, a testosterone replacement therapy drug. 

This case was part of a larger multidistrict litigation involving over 4,000 plaintiffs. The plaintiff, Jesse Mitchell, suffered a heart attack after using AndroGel, and his legal team, including Troy Rafferty of Levin Papantonio, argued that AbbVie fraudulently marketed the drug without properly disclosing its cardiovascular risks.

Although the jury did not find AbbVie directly liable for causing Mitchell's heart attack, they determined that the company had misrepresented the benefits of AndroGel, specifically marketing it for unproven uses and downplaying its risks. The $150 million in punitive damages was meant to penalize AbbVie for its deceptive practices and send a strong message about the consequences of misleading marketing. This was the second bellwether trial in a series of cases addressing claims related to the drug.

Troy Rafferty, alongside other attorneys, helped secure a $425 million settlement from AstraZeneca in lawsuits involving the heartburn drugs Nexium and Prilosec. 

Plaintiffs alleged that these drugs caused kidney damage and that AstraZeneca failed to properly warn users of the risks. Although the settlement is a significant victory, the legal battle continues as some cases remain unresolved, and plaintiffs' attorneys emphasize that further accountability is needed for the harm caused by these medications.