Talcum Powder Lawsuit

On May 19, 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced that it will discontinue the sales of its popular talcum product baby powder in the US and Canada. The company claims that declining sales due to concerns about product safety was the reason behind the product discontinuation.

On October 5, 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced a $100 million settlement for talc-based baby powder lawsuits claiming that the product causes cancer.

On October 14, 2021, Johnson & Johnson placed the talcum powder claims into an entity called LTL Management LLC, which filed for bankruptcy protection in North Carolina. This legal move is known as a Texas two-step bankruptcy.

On February 25, 2022, a New Jersey judge ruled that Johnson & Johnson filed the Chapter 11 case in good faith and has a valid bankruptcy purpose.

The American Cancer Society discusses the concerns that arise with prolonged talcum powder use, mainly among women who apply the powder in the genital area. There have been several studies that have looked into the possibility of increased risk of lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

In its unaltered form, talc can also contain asbestos, a known-carcinogenic substance. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified asbestos-containing talc as a carcinogen in 2011. The organization also classified genital-area use of talc body powders as a possible carcinogen.

It is believed that fine talcum powder particles can enter the vagina and travel to the ovaries, where it can stay unmoved and undetected for years. These particles trigger a response which results in inflamed ovaries, which can develop into ovarian cancer cell growth.

Ovarian Cancer. In 2016, the family of a woman who died because of ovarian cancer was awarded $72 million in a verdict against Johnson & Johnson regarding talcum powder use. Jacqueline Fox had been using Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower consistently for more than 35 years, and died in 2015 at the age of 62 due to ovarian cancer. The lawsuit claimed that the company knew about the risk of their talcum powder products and actively tried to hide this information from consumers. The verdict was overturned a year later due to a filing technicality. A similar verdict was also tossed in 2018 for the same reasons.

In 2017, another talcum powder victim was awarded $110 million in a trial against the pharmaceutical giant. The company claims it sympathizes with women impacted by ovarian cancer but plans to appeal the verdict.

More recently, a Missouri circuit court awarded $4.14 billion for punitive damages and an additional $550 million for compensatory damages to 22 women and their families who had suffered from the side effects of talcum powder. The company once again plans to submit an appeal. Six victims had already died from the disease, and one of the plaintiffs was too ill from chemotherapy to attend the trial.

Mesothelioma. In a mesothelioma-related lawsuit, a California-based plaintiff was awarded $18.07 million after a jury found that the manufacturing company failed to perform the proper tests needed to ensure that its talc products are asbestos-free. The plaintiff developed mesothelioma after repeated use and exposure to talcum powder from his own personal use and from exposure in his father’s barbershop.

In March 2019, a California jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $29 million to a woman who allegedly developed cancer because of asbestos from the talcum powder products. The company continues to deny that its talcum-based products contain asbestos.

Currently, more than 9,000 lawsuits are still pending in state and federal courts against Johnson & Johnson and other talcum powder manufacturers on the grounds that the companies knew about talcum powder’s link to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

On October 14, 2021, Johnson & Johnson placed the talcum powder claims into an entity called LTL Management LLC, which filed for bankruptcy protection in North Carolina. This legal move is known as a Texas two-step bankruptcy.

In a special report from Reuters published on February 5, 2022, company documents revealed how Johnson & Johnson started planning the bankruptcy strategy as early as April 2021 to limit the compensation of talcum powder plaintiffs.

By shifting the liability to the newly created subsidiary which will declare bankruptcy, plaintiffs would have to seek compensation through a bankruptcy process with a very limited amount of money. This strategy will move the pending cases into a bankruptcy court instead of a jury.