Johnson & Johnson May Attempt To Settle 40,000 Talcum Powder Cancer Claims for $61 billion

A settlement offer in bankruptcy is the most probable outcome of the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder bankruptcy situation

Tuesday, November 29, 2022 - 40,000 talcum powder cancer plaintiffs, or the estates of those who have died, have been put on hold and are unable to proceed with their lawsuits until a bankruptcy court judge rules on whether or not the talcum powder bankruptcy can proceed. Plaintiff attorneys legal scholars and others argue that Johnson & Johnson is abusing the bankruptcy system by using the Texas Two-Step maneuver to shelter their $400 billion war chest from legal claims. Bankruptcy Judge Kaplan, presiding over the company's talcum powder bankruptcy ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson citing that bankruptcy was the best and fastest way to ensure that all of the qualifying plaintiffs were paid fairly. According to NPR, "Attorney Neal Katyal, representing the company, responded by arguing that the bankruptcy maneuver -- known as the "Texas two-step" -- would benefit victims by producing a faster settlement, possibly worth as much as $61 billion." Judge Kaplan told NPR that allowing all 40,000 lawsuits to proceed one by one would throw the nation's court system into chaos. That does not take into account that talcum powder cancer lawyers could try hundreds or even thousands of cases at once as was done before. Back in October 2020 that Johnson & Johnson settled with a block of 1000 similar talcum powder ovarian cancer plaintiffs for more than 100 million dollars.

Back in 2020, the US Government tested bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder and found an amount of asbestos in them. Asbestos is a lethal carcinogen responsible for causing mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson discontinued selling talcum powder in North America in response. The company did not recall existing supplies that remain to this day on store shelves. Johnson & Johnson continued to earn hundreds of millions of dollars selling talcum powder in lucrative markets overseas in China, the UK, and India. Some legal pundits thought that Johnson & Johnson should have been made to include their ongoing worldwide talcum powder business in their bankruptcy plan. Johnson & Johnson side-stepped that proposal by suspending selling talcum powder worldwide until further notice. Johnson & Johnson is facing thousands of lawsuits in the United Kingdom (UK) over causing ovarian cancer in women who had used the product regularly and over many years. The lawsuits are being brought by the law firm of Mark Lanier, a US-based attorney who had previously litigated on behalf of 22 American women suing Johnson & Johnson. The 22 women were initially awarded more than $4 billion in compensatory and punitive damages, but the award was reduced by half, still an enormous victory for the plaintiffs. Only 17 of the 22 plaintiffs survived to see a verdict. Johnson & Johnson has delayed if not entirely limited responsibility to pay the plaintiffs by spinning off their talc liabilities into a separate entity and declaring it bankrupt.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.