Johnson & Johnson to pay $9Bn to settle baby talcum powder lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson, the US-based pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods company, has reportedly proposed to pay nearly $9 billion to settle tens of thousands of claims in North America alleging that its baby powder as well as other talc-based product lines cause cancer.

The pharmaceutical company declared it continued to view the allegations as fallacious, but hoped the revised proposed settlement would help put an end to its legal dispute.

The amount is a significant increase from the $2 billion it initially proposed. Those connected to the case, it claimed, had expressed considerable support for the revised offer.

The firm is dealing with over 40,000 claims from former clients who claim that its talcum baby powder caused cancer, some of whom claim the product included asbestos, which is known to cause cancer.

In 2020, it discontinued selling its talcum powder in the United States, blaming "misinformation" for lowering demand for the item. The product was commonly used by parents for cosmetic purposes and to take care of diaper rashes. It unveiled intentions to discontinue product sales globally last year.

The firm had been selling baby powder for about 130 years before that move. It still offers a cornstarch-containing version of the product for sale.

Since forming a subsidiary in charge of the lawsuits in 2021, the corporation has been attempting to settle the claims in bankruptcy proceedings.

However, it faced difficulty when a bankruptcy court decision earlier concluded that the subsidiary did not face financial hardship and could not settle the litigation through the bankruptcy system.

Johnson & Johnson stated that it had won the bulk of the talc litigation brought against it. Yet, it has been saddled with some hefty failures, such as one ruling where 22 women received damages totaling more than $2 billion.

As per Johnson & Johnson, over 60,000 existing claimants have agreed to the approval of the revised conditions of the settlement.

Source credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65180131