Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $5.5 billion in talc powder settlement
FILE-An entry sign to the Johnson & Johnson campus shows their logo in Irvine, California. (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Johnson & Johnson will pay $5.5 billion to settle remaining lawsuits that alleged the company’s talc products caused ovarian cancer.
The organization has been embroiled in talc-related lawsuits for over 10 years, and they told The Associated Press that the settlement is conditioned on the remaining claimants participating.
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According to the AP, a bankruptcy judge denied a $9 billion settlement introduced by company subsidiary Red River Talc in 2025 that would have been one of the largest mass settlements in history.
Johnson & Johnson talc powder lawsuit
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Last week, a federal judge ordered plaintiffs in the case against Johnson & Johnson to show why the remaining pending talc claims should not be dismissed after their witnesses could not provide a direct connection between the company's product and cancer.
As part of the proposed settlement, Johnson & Johnson will make an initial payment of no more than $3 billion in 2027 and won’t have additional payments due until 2028.
The Associated Press reported that Johnson & Johnson said that it previously settled 95% of filed lawsuits for mesothelioma, a cancer in the tissue surrounding organs like the lungs and heart, all state consumer protection claims, and all talc-supplier disputes.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which cites comments from Johnson & Johnson about the case and settlement. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.