The talcum powder litigation against Johnson & Johnson is one of the largest product liability cases in U.S. history, with over 67,000 federal lawsuits consolidated in New Jersey. After J&J’s third attempt to resolve the cases through bankruptcy was rejected in March 2025, individual trials have resumed, and juries are handing down massive verdicts. Here’s where things stand.
J&J’s Bankruptcy Strategy Failed Three Times
For years, Johnson & Johnson tried to avoid going to trial by using a corporate maneuver known as the “Texas two-step.” The company shifted its talc-related liabilities into a subsidiary, which then filed for bankruptcy. The idea was to freeze all the lawsuits and force claimants to accept a capped settlement through bankruptcy court rather than face juries.
Courts rejected this approach three times. The most recent dismissal came in March 2025, when a judge found that J&J’s proposed $10 billion settlement did not have enough support from the women alleging its products caused their cancer. With no bankruptcy shield in place, the tens of thousands of pending lawsuits are now moving forward.
In January 2026, a separate lawsuit accused J&J of fraud for repeatedly using this bankruptcy tactic to delay cases. A federal judge dismissed that claim, ruling the plaintiffs couldn’t prove the delays caused them concrete harm because they hadn’t yet won their underlying cancer cases. That decision doesn’t affect the main litigation, which continues.
Recent Jury Verdicts Have Been Enormous
With trials resuming, juries across the country have been siding with plaintiffs and awarding significant damages. The largest recent verdict came in December 2025, when a Maryland jury awarded $1.5 billion to a 59-year-old woman who developed peritoneal mesothelioma after decades of exposure to what she alleged was asbestos-contaminated talc.
Other notable verdicts from 2025 include:
- $966 million (October, Los Angeles): Awarded to the family of Mae Moore, who died at age 88 from mesothelioma after a lifetime of using J&J baby powder.
- $42.6 million (July, Boston): Awarded to Paul and Kathryn Lovell after a jury found J&J’s baby powder caused his mesothelioma.
- $40 million (December, California): Split between two women, Debra Schulz ($22 million) and Monica Kent ($18 million), who developed ovarian cancer.
- $25 million (October, Connecticut): A judge increased an earlier verdict for Evan Plotkin, who developed mesothelioma after using talc-based baby powder.
- $20 million (October, Florida): Awarded to the family of a doctor who died from mesothelioma after 50 years of baby powder use.
- $3 million (May, New Orleans): Awarded to the family of Jeanine Henderson, a 72-year-old mother who died from mesothelioma.
The pattern is clear: mesothelioma cases tend to produce the largest awards, often in the hundreds of millions or more. Ovarian cancer verdicts are typically smaller but still substantial. J&J has already settled roughly 95% of its mesothelioma-related talc claims separately, while the ovarian cancer claims make up the bulk of the remaining 67,000-plus cases.
What the Science Shows About Talc and Cancer
The core allegation in these lawsuits is that J&J’s talc-based products were contaminated with asbestos and that the company knew about it for decades. A comprehensive 2025 review published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that women who used talc-based powder in the genital area had a 30 to 32% higher risk of developing ovarian cancer compared to women who didn’t.
A large pooled study looked at data from over 3,400 ovarian cancer cases and nearly 8,000 controls across both African American and White women. The increased risk was consistent across racial groups: White women showed a 36% increase in risk, while African American women showed a 22% increase. African American women also reported higher rates of genital powder use (35.8% of cancer cases) compared to White women (29.5%).
The research noted one important nuance. While the link to ovarian cancer held up across multiple studies, there was no significant connection between talc use and uterine cancer. Researchers also observed that product formulations changed after 1976 when asbestos contaminants were supposedly removed from talc products, which complicates the picture for more recent exposures.
The Litigation Has Gone International
The legal fight is no longer limited to the United States. A major claim involving 3,000 people has been filed in the United Kingdom, accusing J&J of knowingly selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos. The UK lawsuit points to internal company memos and scientific reports suggesting J&J was aware as early as the 1960s that its talc contained fibrous minerals linked to cancer. Sales of talc-based baby powder stopped in the UK in 2023. Lawyers for the claimants estimate damages could reach hundreds of millions of pounds, potentially making it the largest product liability case in British legal history.
Who Can File a Claim
The lawsuits generally involve two groups of plaintiffs: people diagnosed with ovarian cancer and people diagnosed with mesothelioma, both linked to long-term use of talc-based products. To be eligible, you typically need a diagnosis that occurred after the year 2000, between the ages of 22 and 65. Mesothelioma cases usually involve prolonged, repeated exposure to talc products over many years.
There is no single filing deadline because this is not a class action settlement with a claims window. These are individual lawsuits consolidated for pretrial proceedings in a federal multidistrict litigation overseen by Judge Michael Shipp in New Jersey. New cases can still be filed, and attorneys are actively taking on new clients. The timeline for any individual case depends on when it was filed, what evidence is available, and whether J&J eventually reaches a global settlement or continues fighting case by case.
What Happens Next
With three failed bankruptcy attempts behind it, J&J faces a straightforward choice: settle the remaining cases or keep going to trial and risk more billion-dollar verdicts. The company’s earlier $10 billion proposal suggested it was willing to pay a significant sum, but the deal collapsed because not enough claimants agreed to the terms. Any future settlement offer would need broader support to succeed.
In the meantime, trials will continue across the country. Each large verdict increases the pressure on J&J to negotiate, while also establishing a range of damages that shapes what future settlements might look like. For the tens of thousands of people with pending claims, the shift from bankruptcy proceedings back to active litigation means their cases are finally moving forward after years of delay.