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Johnson & Johnson to pay $8.9 billion in talc settlement
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-business-news/johnson-johnson-to-pay-8-9-billion-in-talc-settlement
By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted April 5, 2023
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9 billion to thousands who claimed its talc baby powder caused cancer to end a decade-long legal battle.
The move is one of the biggest-ever product-liability settlements and the company will make the payments over 25 years via a subsidiary.
The subsidiary, LTL Management, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, on Tuesday, April 4.
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J&J said the settlement and bankruptcy filing didn’t suggest it “has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe.”
The company has long refuted allegations that talc, a mineral that absorbs moisture, causes cancer.
It maintained that the settlement is to “resolve all the current and future talc claims.”
The bankruptcy filing on Tuesday marks Johnson & Johnson's second attempt to settle the claims through LTL Management.
Johnson & Johnson said that more than 60,000 petitioners approved the settlement.
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But, it must be approved by others, some of whom opposed the deal and the company's legal strategy.
Leigh O’Dell, an attorney for some of the claimants, said J&J was “seeking an extremely deep discount on justice.”
O’Dell added that the bankruptcy filing would cause delays in her clients' resolution.
She said: “This new filing should be viewed as a shameful attempt to run out the clock on people dying of cancer and convince some lawyers to give up.”
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The Food and Drug Administration research has found “a possible association between the use of powders containing talc in the genital area and the incidence of ovarian cancer,” but studies have not “conclusively demonstrated such a link.”
The FDA says there is a “potential for contamination of talc with asbestos,” but Johnson & Johnson argues its products don’t contain asbestos, a known carcinogen.
But an investigation by Reuters has shown that the firm was well aware that some of its products had tested positive for trace quantities of asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson said last year that it would stop overseas sales of its talc-based baby powder after ceasing sales in the US and Canada due to slow demand.
Source: The Washington Post
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