Baby products containing talc made by manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson have been linked with:
- Ovarian cancer
- Endometrioid ovarian cancer
- Mesothelioma
Talcum powder lawsuits allege that the manufacturers of products containing talc knew or should have known that the products contained asbestos and thus could cause cancer, yet failed to warn about the danger inherent in the products. Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one developed one of the above cancers after using products containing talc. You might be eligible for financial compensation in a talc lawsuit. We don’t charge a fee to represent clients until and unless we obtain financial compensation for them.
2023 Talcum Powder Lawsuit Updates
- April 23, 2024 Update: A court has ordered Johnson & Johnson, as well as Kenvue Inc., its spinoff, to pay out $45 million in a talc verdict. The money will be paid to the family of an Illinois woman whose death was due to mesothelioma, which a lawsuit alleged was caused by her exposure to asbestos in the companies’ baby powder products. Chicago jurors found that Kenvue was 70 percent responsible for the woman’s death and that J&J was 30 percent responsible. The lawsuit alleged that the companies were aware their products had asbestos in them but failed to warn the public about it.
- April 16, 2024 Update: The FDA has released the results of its testing it did on talc-based cosmetics in 2023. The agency sampled at least 50 products in 2023, finding asbestos in none of the products. The testing comes after asbestos was found in Johnson’s Baby Powder several years ago.
- April 9, 2024 Update: A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Florida alleges that a woman died from ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson baby powder for a period of decades. This marks the second ovarian cancer trial post-bankruptcy. The first trial ended up with a deadlocked jury.
- March 31, 2024 Update: The judge overseeing the talc MDL will allow Johnson & Johnson to refile Daubert challenges regarding how admissible the testimony of expert witnesses is. The testimony relates to talc, as well as asbestos particles found in talc, causing an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. The company will be allowed to re-argue the challenges despite a ruling almost five years ago which allowed these experts to present testimony. Plaintiffs argued that by requesting this opportunity, Johnson & Johnson was employing delay tactics, noting that numerous plaintiffs have already died waiting for a day in court, and that more plaintiffs will probably die waiting as well. However, the judge ruled that it’s appropriate to allow the company to re-argue their Daubert challenges because of emerging science and changes regarding federal evidence rules.
- March 15, 2024 Update: A lawsuit has been filed by a Massachusetts woman against over 30 companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Mary Kay, Clinique and L’Oreal, alleging the companies sold talc products containing asbestos, and that these products directly caused her to develop mesothelioma, a rare, deadly cancer with no cure. The lawsuit alleges that the companies knew that a risk of exposure to asbestos was connected with talcum powder, yet marketed and sold talcum powder products to consumers without warning them about this risk.
- March 8, 2024 Update: Around 60 cases have been added to the talc MDL since January 1.
- February 16, 2024 update: A trial judge has ruled that old J&J baby powder advertisements are relative in terms of determining punitive damages. In addition, in a surprising development, J&J has allowed a case to proceed to trial which alleges that the company’s baby powder caused the death of an anesthesiologist who had used the product every day for over 50 years, and that it caused his death because it contained asbestos. This development is surprising because it is assumed that J&J desperately wants to settle asbestos cases, because another huge verdict would significant drive the settlement value up of all talcum powder cases – asbestos cases included.
- January 23, 2024 update: Johnson & Johnson has proposed a $6.9 billion settlement regarding over 50,000 claims that its talc products caused ovarian cancer. This figure means that the average settlement under the proposal would be valued at about $130,000. Johnson & Johnson had earlier proposed an $8.9 billion global talc settlement, but that earlier settlement offer had included mesothelioma cases as well, which the company is now handling separately.
- January 19, 2024 update: The total of talc cases now in the talc MDL is 53,733 cases.
- January 11, 2024 update: Johnson & Johnson has reached a $700 million settlement resolving claims which dozens of states brought over allegedly deceptive marketing by the company. The settlement is the result of a joint investigation which at least 41 different states initiated in order to examine if the company’s talcum powder product marketing was honest. Lawsuits have alleged that the company knew that its talcum powder products were contaminated with asbestos but failed to warn about it.
- January 3, 2024 update: A class action lawsuit has been filed by investors in Johnson & Johnson which echoes claims made by wrongful death and personal injury plaintiffs in another class action lawsuit filed against the company. The lawsuit has been certified by a New Jersey federal judge. The class action lawsuit alleges that the company made statements about research and product safety which were misleading. The investors allege that while Johnson & Johnson publicly boasted about how safe its talc products were, it internally knew about concerns that an external laboratory raised regarding its testing methods regarding asbestos detection in its talc products being inadequate.
- December 21, 2023 update: Johnson & Johnson has filed a motion alleging that a law firm representing plaintiffs in talc litigation formed a relationship which was inappropriate with a former lawyer who worked with Johnson & Johnson. The company alleges the law firm used confidential information to their advantage, and that the former lawyer collaborated with the firm in an unethical manner. The law firm responded on December 21, 2023, denying that they had acquired privileged info and arguing that the motion was Johnson & Johnson simply trying to distract from its failures in addressing claims that their talc products injured users.
- December 18, 2023 update: Almost 400 talc cases were added to the talc MDL in the month prior to December 18, 2023, bringing the total number of cases to 53,729.
- December 6, 2023 update: Johnson & Johnson has reportedly told its investors that they are close to coming to a global settlement agreement to resolve all mesothelioma-related talcum powder lawsuits which involve claims that asbestos in the company’s talc-based products caused users to develop the deadly cancer. The company has come to tentative settlement agreements in about 100 of these cases, according to Bloomberg News.
- November 16, 2023 update: Reuters reported on November 16 that Johnson & Johnson has settled two lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who claimed that asbestos in the company’s talc powder products caused them to develop mesothelioma. Settlement terms were not disclosed by plaintiffs’ lawyers. Johnson & Johnson faces over 50,000 talc lawsuits, the majority of which have been filed by women who developed ovarian cancer.
- November 7, 2023 update: Rumblings are coming from Johnson & Johnson regarding a possible third attempt to have its subsidiary LTL Management file for bankruptcy in order to avoid financial liability over talc litigation. Johnson & Johnson failed twice to file bankruptcy in New Jersey, with the courts in New Jersey ruling that LTL was not in immediate financial distress and could therefore not file for bankruptcy in good faith. Johnson & Johnson is considering having LTL file for bankruptcy in Texas, thinking that Texas courts may be more favorable to them. This probably will not work and will probably lead to Johnson & Johnson wasting money.
- November 1, 2023 update: In an October news conference, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) attacked Johnson & Johnson regarding its role of spreading cancer through its talc products, criticizing the company’s “Texas two-step” legal maneuvering which was intended to avoid financial liability over its asbestos-containing talc products causing cancer. The Senator explained how the company transferred its talc liabilities to a subsidiary, which subsequently declared for bankruptcy to try to dodge liability. “Both Republicans and Democrats recognize that this situation demands action, potentially in the form of new legislation,” the Senator said about the legal maneuver.
- October 20, 2023 update: Following a long delay in the talc litigation resulting from two failed bankruptcy filings by Johnson & Johnson, things in the litigation are moving along again. The judge who presides over the talc MDL has released a pretrial schedule, updating deadlines for six bellwether trials. The new pretrial schedule involves expert witness depositions reaching completion by January 22, 2024, defense expert witness depositions reaching completion by April 15, 2024 and Daubert and dispositive motions being completed by May 6.
- October 4, 2023 update: Since a stay on talc litigation was lifted by a judge a bit over a month ago, over 11,000 new talc lawsuits have been filed alleging that Johnson & Johnson, as well as its subsidiaries, failed to warn that its talcum powder products could cause cancer. There are now over 70,000 lawsuits involving similar allegations that particles of absestos in the talcum powder products led to users developing mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and more. Users of the products had been prevented from filing lawsuits for over two years when Johnson & Johnson transferred its liability into a subsidiary which immediately filed for bankruptcy, but that filing was dismissed by a judge this year, allowing new talc lawsuits to be filed.
- September 19, 2023 update: United States Senators have delivered bipartisan condemnation of Johnson & Johnson’s attempt to avoid financial liability for its talc products allegedly causing cancer by shifting liability to a shell company then having the shell company file for bankruptcy. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) noted that Johnson & Johnson’s market capitalization was $420 billion when its subsidiary declared bankruptcy in 2021, yet offered only $8.9 billion in order to settle talc lawsuits. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) stated that Johnson & Johnson is attempting to “distort” bankruptcy code in order to avoid liability in talc lawsuits.
- September 8, 2023 update: On September 8, 2023, plaintiffs in the talc MDL objected to the appointment of retired judge Freda L. Wolfson for addressing Daubert-related motions and disputes. The plaintiffs contend it is inappropriate for Wolfson to address these motions and disputes because she is now a partner at the law firm Lowenstein Sandler, which represents Johnson & Johnson in a bankruptcy matter related to talc litigation.
- August 23, 2023 update: On August 23, 2023, plaintiffs in the Talc MDL wrote a letter to the court opposing Johnson & Johnson’s attempt to delay litigation by rearguing Daubert motions which had been already ruled upon years ago.
- August 11, 2023 update: On August 11, 2023, a second attempt at bankruptcy by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL Management was dismissed by the court. However, plaintiffs had also requested a 180 day ban on future bankruptcy claims by J&J, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Michael Kaplan refused to impose this ban. The ban was requested by plaintiffs to avoid setbacks which might jeopardize settlements in talc claims.
- July 28, 2023 update: On July 28, 2023, a United States bankruptcy judge, Michael Kaplan, rejected the second bankruptcy filing by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary LTL Management, LLC. The judge determined the filing was “filed in bad faith.” The judge determined that LTL Management doesn’t face immediate or imminent financial distress. The judge determined the subsidiary possesses sufficient financial resources to resolve talc litigation in a fair manner without having to restrict plaintiffs’ compensation by filing for bankruptcy. The judge noted that LTL Management has a “funding backstop” provided via contract by Johnson & Johnson, which has equity interests, expected annual dividends and cash holdings with a value that approaches $30 billion.
- July 18, 2023 update: On July 18, 2023, a California jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson must pay a California man $18.8 million. The man had filed a lawsuit claiming he developed mesothelioma after being exposed to the company’s talc products.
- June 1, 2023 update: Johnson and Johnson’s second attempt at bankruptcy has been opposed by a United States Trustee’s office. A motion was filed to dismiss J&J’s Chapter 11 case. Andrew Vara, the trustee, noted that the “bankruptcy petition appears to reflect a mistaken belief that the best cure for bad faith is more bad faith.” Vara accused J&J of engaging in transactions which J&J subsidiary LTL admitted were designed for the purpose of creating fake financial distress. Vara alleges that the bankruptcy case is an attempt by J&J to “discharge tort obligations at cents on the dollar.”
- May 31, 2023 update: On May 31, 2023, Johnson & Johnson began the first talcum powder trial it has gone through since the bankruptcy and spinoff of its talc subsidiary. The trial sees a patient with terminal mesothelioma alleging that the company ignored or minimized data which indicated that its talc was contaminated with asbestos.
- May 1, 2023 update: In April 2023, Judge Michael Kaplan placed a 60 day freeze on talc trials. However, under the injunction, new lawsuits can still be filed and discovery can still be conducted by plaintiffs.
- May 1, 2023 update: Johnson & Johnson, in April 2023, announced that it had agreed to pay out $8.9 billion in order to resolve any and all lawsuits alleging that its talc-containing products caused cancer. Included in the $8.9 billion is $400 for ending claims by states that its talc marketing was deceptive. However, at Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers, we do not feel that this is an adequate settlement. While $8.9 billion seems like a ton of money, Johnson & Johnson is attempting to cover all current and future victims of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma with this settlement, as well as any attorney general action in any state and any other claim related to talc, such as claims against the company filed by insurance companies. This settlement would pay less than $120,000 per case, if not less, and most victims of ovarian cancer see their medical costs alone cost as much as $500,000.
- March 1, 2023 update: In February 2023, a bankruptcy judge allowed a talcum powder lawsuit to proceed in California. The lawsuit alleges that talcum powder caused a man to develop terminal cancer. The lawsuit was cleared to proceed after a long bankruptcy stay which stopped litigation from moving ahead.
- April 1, 2022 update: In March 2022, a federal appeals court rejected an attempt by Johnson & Johnson to use chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid liability in talc lawsuits.
- November 1, 2021 update: In October 2021, Johnson & Johnson faced over 40,000 lawsuits regarding its talcum powder-based products. It announced that it would explore Chapter 11 bankruptcy to dispose of some of these cases.
- September 1, 2021 update: In August 2021, Johnson & Johnson sought to separate its business accounts from its talc-related liabilities, having been overwhelmed with the growing number of lawsuits.
- August 1, 2021 update: In July 2021, the National Council of Negro Women filed a suit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming that its marketing targeted black women more than other demographics.
- March 1, 2021 update: In February 2021, the accused company, faced with over 25,000 lawsuits, reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that they set aside roughly $4 billion for litigation expenses. Despite this move, Johnson & Johnson still chose to defend the safety of its products.
- November 1, 2020 update: In October 2020, Johnson & Johnson made headlines with settlement agreements ($100 million to resolve 1,000 cases). At the time, the company maintained the safety of their products, confident that they don’t contain asbestos and don’t cause cancer.
- June 1, 2020 update: In May 2020, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily ceased the sale of talcum powder-based products in the US and Canada. The company cited reasons such as changes in consumer habits, the constant barrage of litigation advertising, and misinformation around the product’s safety.