Kathmandu — American health products manufacturer Johnson & Johnson has proposed a maximum of $5.5 billion in compensation to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming that its baby powder and other talc-based products caused ovarian cancer. The New Jersey-based company put forward this proposal with the aim of ending the long-standing legal disputes winding through the courts. According to the company, this settlement would cover approximately 69,000 remaining talc-related claims.
The company stated that it will pay up to $3 billion within the coming year and will not be required to make any additional payments before 2028. However, for this proposal to be finalized, it requires the consent of legal representatives representing 95 percent of the claimants associated with ovarian cancer claims pending in state and federal courts.
Company Vice President Erik Haas claimed that the allegations are baseless, stating that the company chose the path of settlement to end the disputes without admitting any wrongdoing. According to him, the company has succeeded in most of the lawsuits brought to court and remained confident that it would ultimately win the remaining cases as well.
Talc, which is used in baby powder, is a natural mineral composed of magnesium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Due to its soft and smooth properties, it has long been used in baby powders. However, consumers and their families began filing lawsuits against the company starting in 2009, claiming that the talc may have been contaminated with asbestos, a cancer-causing substance. Because asbestos is often found near talc mines, the plaintiffs alleged there was a risk of contamination.
The company has consistently claimed that its talc-based products are safe, contain no asbestos, and do not cause cancer, which it asserts has been confirmed by various studies. Meanwhile, in 2022, Johnson & Johnson decided to discontinue the production and sale of talc-based baby powder worldwide. Sales of the product had already been halted in the United States prior to that. At the time, the company stated that, in line with its global production strategy, it had decided to exclusively manufacture baby powder made from cornstarch instead of talc.
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