A securities filing from late February shows that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) allotted $3.9 billion for litigation expenses in 2020 and that the funds were “primarily associated with talc-related reserves and certain settlements.” This figure is almost twice as much as the $2.1 billion that the company agreed to set aside in November.
A 2018 Reuters report first revealed that J&J has known for decades about asbestos in the talc. Internal records and trial testimony, among other evidence, show that their raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos from 1971 to the early 2000s. The pharmaceutical company now faces 25,000 lawsuits by former users of its baby powder who believe that the asbestos-laced talc caused their cancers.
The drugmaker is currently appealing to the Supreme Court against a $2.12 billion verdict in Missouri to women who believe their ovarian cancer developed due to asbestos in J&J products. Additionally, in November, a New York state judge ordered the company to pay $120 million to a Brooklyn couple after the woman argued that her cancer was a result of asbestos exposure from their baby powder.
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Tracy Everhart
Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.