Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $8.9bn over alleged cancer-causing talc claims

The conglomerate was prevented from offloading its liability to a subsidiary that immediately declared bankruptcy

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9bn to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that talc in its iconic Baby Powder and other products caused cancer, the company said. The amount dwarfs J&J’s original offer of $2bn.

The agreement follows a January appeals court ruling invalidating J&J’s controversial “Texas two-step” bankruptcy maneuver, in which it sought to offload the talc liability on to a subsidiary that immediately filed for Chapter 11.