“Johnson & Johnson” has proposed to pay about “$9 billion” to resolve the thousands of lawsuits it is dealing with in North America that claim its “baby powder and other talc-based products” seed cancer.
While stating that it continued to view the claims as “specious,” the healthcare behemoth expressed hope that the fresh settlement offer would help bring an end to its legal dispute.
The amount is a significant increase from the earlier suggested number of “$2 billion.”
According to it, many parties involved in the case have expressed strong support for the revised offer.
‘More than 40,000 lawsuits’ have been charged against the company by former clients who claim that using its “talc-based baby powder” caused cancer. Some of the cases also claim that the product contained “asbestos,” which is known to cause cancer.
In 2020, the company discontinued selling its “talc-based baby powder” in the United States, blaming “misinformation” for reducing demand for the item, which was used to reduce diaper rash and for other cosmetic purposes, such as dry shampoo. It had plans to halt sales worldwide last year.
The baby powder had been sold by the corporation for about “130 years” prior to that choice. It still offers a product with corn flour in it for sale.
After designating a subsidiary to handle the claims, the business has been attempting to settle the litigation in bankruptcy court since 2021.
However, the subsidiary was not in financial disadvantage, and as a result, it was unable to use the bankruptcy system to settle the lawsuits, according to a previous bankruptcy court ruling. As a result, the subsidiary’s efforts were unsuccessful.
According to Erik Haas, global vice president of litigation for “Johnson & Johnson,” the company keeps believing that these assertions are speculative and without scientific basis.
Nevertheless, he claimed that “resolving these issues through the tort system would take decades and entail substantial costs on LTL and the system, with the majority of victims never obtaining any remuneration.”
“Resolving this issue through the recommended restructuring plan is both more equitable and more effective, enables claimants to get compensation in a timely manner, and enables the company to continue focusing on our objective to profoundly and positively affect health for humanity.”
In most of the talc legal action it faced, “Johnson & Johnson” claimed victory. Yet, it has been charge with a number of notable setbacks, such as a judgement in which 22 women were given awards totaling “more than $2 billion.”
According to “Johnson & Johnson,” almost “60,000 current claimants” have agreed to endorse the new settlement conditions.
