Johnson & Johnson offers to pay $5.5bn to settle baby powder lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson has announced a proposal to pay up to 5.5 billion dollars to resolve tens of thousands of pending lawsuits. These legal actions allege that the company's talc-based baby powder products were linked to ovarian cancer cases in the United States. The settlement aims to address approximately 69,000 claims and marks a major effort to end a legal conflict that has lasted for more than a decade.
Despite the proposed settlement, the company continues to deny that its talc products are unsafe or linked to cancer. Erik Haas, vice president of litigation at Johnson & Johnson, stated that the company remains confident it would have won these cases in court but chose this path to resolve the matter. The firm maintains that its talc-based products do not contain asbestos and that current scientific studies support the safety of the mineral.
To move forward, the deal requires approval from law firms representing at least 95 percent of the current ovarian cancer claims in both federal and state courts. If finalized, the payments are scheduled to begin with 3 billion dollars next year, with the remaining balance addressed by 2028. This move follows the company's decision in 2022 to discontinue all global sales of talc-based baby powder, replacing the products with cornstarch-based alternatives.
This decision allows the business to shift its attention toward its healthcare and medical device sectors. While the legal proceedings have been extensive, this proposal represents the most significant step toward ending the company's long-standing talc litigation. Kenvue, which was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2022, continues to hold liability for products outside of North America.