Overview
- Johnson & Johnson announced a proposed settlement in late July that would provide $5.5 billion to resolve about 76,000 lawsuits alleging its talc products caused ovarian cancer, with an initial $3 billion payment planned for 2027 and further payments in 2028.
- Company officials said the offer is conditional on leading plaintiffs' firms joining and at least 95 percent of the remaining claimants opting in, and plaintiff lawyers warned the total payout could rise toward $7 billion depending on participation.
- J&J continues to deny that its talc contained asbestos or caused cancer and has already stopped sales of talc-based Baby Powder in the U.S. in 2020 and worldwide in 2023.
- The deal would not bar future talc claims and follows a long legal history in which J&J has both won and lost trials and failed in a recent attempt to channel liabilities through a bankruptcy of a subsidiary.
- The settlement comes after the IARC reclassified talc as 'probably carcinogenic' in 2024, scientific evidence on talc and ovarian cancer remains mixed, and if the conditions are met claimants could see faster payouts but the litigation could continue if the opt-in threshold is not reached.