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Johnson & Johnson Offers $5.5 Billion to Settle Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuits
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Health & Science

Johnson & Johnson Offers $5.5 Billion to Settle Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuits

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Johnson & Johnson has proposed a $5.5 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging its Baby Powder caused ovarian cancer.
  • The company maintains its product is safe and lacks scientific evidence linking it to cancer, citing a favorable federal court ruling.
  • The settlement requires approval from 95% of claimants, with initial payments potentially starting in 2027, pending court and claimant agreement.

Johnson & Johnson has offered a $5.5 billion settlement to resolve the vast majority of the approximately 76,000 lawsuits pending in the U.S. that claim its now-discontinued Baby Powder caused ovarian cancer. The pharmaceutical giant, which removed the product from the market in 2020, has consistently denied the allegations, asserting that its talc-based product is safe and not linked to cancer.

In a decisive moment, the court ordered the plaintiffs to demonstrate why the remaining claims should not be dismissed, confirming what we have maintained for years: that these claims lack scientific foundation and were based solely on unreliable expert opinions that would not withstand rigorous judicial review.

— Erik HaasWorldwide Vice President of Litigation at Johnson & Johnson, commenting on the court's order regarding the talc lawsuits.

The company's proposal comes after a significant legal development where a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) court ordered claimants to demonstrate why their cases should not be dismissed. Johnson & Johnson highlighted this ruling, stating it confirmed their long-held position that the lawsuits lack scientific foundation and rely on unreliable expert opinions. Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of Litigation at Johnson & Johnson, emphasized that the court's order placed claimants in an "untenable" position, forcing them to prove specific causality.

Haas further criticized the claims as being based on "pseudoscience" that has been rejected for decades by scientific organizations and regulatory agencies. The company pointed to the claimants' lawyers withdrawing expert witnesses in two major cases after failing to link the cancer to the company's talc, further bolstering J&J's stance.

The court's order placed the plaintiffs in an "untenable" position, forcing them to present evidence of specific causality to support their claims.

— Erik HaasExplaining the impact of the court's ruling on the claimants.

For the settlement to take effect, at least 95% of the claimants must agree to the terms. If approved, the first payment of up to $3 billion could be made in 2027, with the remainder paid in 2028. Johnson & Johnson noted that this proposed settlement complements its progress in resolving other talc-related litigation, including claims for mesothelioma, consumer protection disputes, and issues with talc suppliers.

pseudoscience, rejected for decades by U.S. scientific organizations and regulatory agencies, as well as independent experts.

— Erik HaasDescribing the basis of the claims against Johnson & Johnson's talc products.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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