Johnson & Johnson, the multinational pharmaceutical giant, found itself faced with a landmark settlement after facing a series of lawsuits related to the use of its talc-based products. The agreement includes a massive payment of 6.5 billion dollars, linked to the third bankruptcy filing of an affiliated company, LtlManagement.
Over 6 billion to settle cancer lawsuits: the facts
Johnson & Johnson announced that it has agreed to pay $6.5 billion to put an end to the legal disputes surrounding the alleged link between talc and ovarian cancer.
As reported by Reuters, this agreement provides for the closure of all mesothelioma lawsuits through the bankruptcy declaration of one of its subsidiaries. The company has requested a three-month period to negotiate a settlement with all applicants, including those who may arise in the future.
This settlement involves 99% of talc-related lawsuits, including 54,000 cases aggregated in a single proceeding in New Jersey. However, previous attempts to dismiss the lawsuits were rejected by the courts, which ruled that the company was not entitled to bankruptcy protection because it was not in financial difficulty. Despite the controversies, Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied that its products contain asbestos or are carcinogenic and stated that the proposed settlement has already been accepted by the majority of the plaintiffs.
This settlement was reached primarily to resolve the majority of lawsuits filed by women who said they would develop mesothelioma, an ovarian cancer, after prolonged use of talc products. Johnson & Johnson said this payment is part of an effort to resolve ongoing legal disputes and that there remain only a few lawsuits pending outside of this settlement.
The company also revealed that it has already settled 95% of mesothelioma-related lawsuits. This news had a positive impact on Johnson & Johnson shares, which opened up 3.5% on Wall Street.
Who are the plaintiffs
The lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson have primarily focused on women who claimed they had developed ovarian cancer due to the use of their talc products, particularly Johnson’s baby powder, previously one of the company’s best-selling products, as well as others like it. These products have been withdrawn from the market, and the company recently separated its consumer business to create a new entity, Kenvue, which markets a cornstarch-based alternative version of Johnson’s talcum powder.
Johnson & Johnson faced two previous failed attempts to resolve talc-related lawsuits through the bankruptcy filing of its subsidiary, LTL Management, but both were rejected by the courts. Despite this, J&J, as already mentioned, continues to maintain that its products do not contain asbestos and are absolutely not linked to cancer. The announced settlement was supported by lawyers representing the majority of plaintiffs who filed lawsuits against the company, the company said.
