Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to settle more than 76,000 lawsuits filed in the United States, which allege that long-term use of talc-based baby powder and other talc products caused ovarian cancer.
The settlement, first reported by the Financial Times, is an important step toward resolving one of the largest product liability disputes in US corporate history. But the deal will only be implemented if 95% of eligible claimants accept the settlement; claimant participation is the key to the success of the deal.
One of the Biggest Product Liability Cases
The decade-long lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson has involved thousands of lawsuits, multiple jury trials, appeals, and bitter legal fights. Women who filed the lawsuits alleged that years of using the company’s talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, and many also said their products contained asbestos, a known cancer-causing substance.
Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied these claims, and has stressed that its talc products are safe, asbestos-free and supported by scientific research.
Although the company agreed to the multi-billion-dollar settlement, it said the agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
J&J maintains products are safe
Erik Haas (Johnson & Johnson's Vice President of Litigation) said the company remains confident that it would have prevailed in continued litigation.
Since the cases were resolved, Haas said, the company is able to move beyond years of legal uncertainty and move on to research and develop medicines and medical technology to improve patients’ lives.
It believes that settling the lawsuits is a business decision, not a concession that its product was responsible for cancer.
Payment Schedule
Under the agreement, Johnson & Johnson expects to pay approximately:
$3 billion during 2027
The remaining amount during 2028
But lawyers representing thousands of plaintiffs believe the final settlement value could exceed $7 billion if participation levels are higher than currently estimated.
Talc-Based Baby Powder Already Discontinued
Johnson & Johnson stopped selling its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the U.S. in 2020 and replaced it with a cornstarch-based formulation. This decision was made because of changing consumer tastes, and there was a lot of misinformation about the product quality, the company said.
Today, the cornstarch-based version has largely replaced the original talc formulation in several markets.
Previous Bankruptcy Attempts Failed
Before reaching the current settlement proposal, Johnson & Johnson had three separate attempts to resolve the lawsuits through bankruptcy proceedings.
The company employed the controversial “Texas Two-Step” legal strategy, creating a subsidiary that filed for bankruptcy to consolidate and settle all talc-related claims.
But US courts rejected each bankruptcy filing, ruling that the strategy could not be used to shield the company from ongoing litigation. So thousands of lawsuits continued to proceed in courts across the country.
Settlement covers existing claims only
Unlike J&J's earlier bankruptcy plans, the new settlement applies only to existing ovarian cancer claims and doesn’t preclude lawsuits from being made in the future.
Legal experts say this approach could allow eligible claimants to receive compensation within approximately 18 months, much faster than waiting for years of continued court proceedings.
What is next?
The settlement proposal will now be circulated to all eligible claimants. If 95% approval is obtained, Johnson & Johnson will carry out compensation payments beginning in 2027.
But even if the threshold is not met, the company could once again go back to court and face years of courtroom action with thousands of pending cases.
The $5.5 billion deal is one of the largest legal settlements involving a consumer healthcare product and could mark a major turning point in Johnson & Johnson’s decades-long talc litigation, and still leaves the door open for future claims.
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