Johnson & Johnson settles talc baby powder cancer lawsuits for $5.5 billion

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to settle around 69,000 lawsuits in the United States. The cases claimed that its talc baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The settlement covers nearly all outstanding talc cases in the country. J&J will pay up to $3 billion in the first year, with further payments starting after 2028. The deal still needs approval from legal representatives of at least 95 percent of claimants. J&J stopped selling talc baby powder in the US in 2020 and globally in 2023. The company says it has no evidence that talc causes cancer. However, the World Health Organization said in 2024 that talc is probably carcinogenic to humans. In 2016, a jury ordered J&J to pay $72 million in one related case.