J&J's third attempt: will $8 billion be enough to end thousands of lawsuits this time?
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has once again found itself at the centre of legal wrangling over its talc-containing products, such as baby powder, which have been accused of causing cancer. Despite repeated denials of the allegations, J&J is trying for a third time to use a legal strategy involving bankruptcy to end tens of thousands of lawsuits. The move could yield a settlement worth about $8 billion if it can get enough support from plaintiffs and pass legal hurdles.
On 22 September, a J&J subsidiary called Red River Talc filed for bankruptcy in a US court in South Texas. The move is part of a long-term legal strategy to end the litigation. J&J faces more than 62,000 lawsuits from people who claim its baby powder and other talc-containing products were contaminated with asbestos, which allegedly caused ovarian and other cancers.
Johnson & Johnson $JNJ has long denied these allegations and stresses that their products are safe. Still, the lawsuits continue, which is why the company has…
These problems have been going on for quite a while. Right here, I believe that there just might have been a problem, but I wouldn't say that JNJ is directly to blame.