What Is The Average Settlement For A Talcum Powder Lawsuit?

The talcum powder lawsuit, centered around products like baby powder, has gained significant attention due to claims suggesting a potential link between talc powder and cancer. Johnson & Johnson, a prominent company in this market, has been at the forefront of these legal battles.

At ConsumerShield, we help consumers harmed by talc-containing products fight for the justice they deserve. If you or someone you love has developed ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, or other illnesses after using talcum powder, you might be entitled to compensation. Let us review your unique situation and help you understand your options. We can connect you with the right experts in the field.

Who Is Involved in Talcum Powder Lawsuits?

Hundreds of individual lawsuits and class actions have been filed, most notably directed at Johnson & Johnson. The company, a prominent producer of talcum powder, has faced numerous lawsuits accusing it of failing to warn consumers adequately about the potential cancer risk associated with its talc-based products. These allegations have led to a series of verdicts.

In many cases, courts have sided with plaintiffs and ordered J&J and other defendants in talcum powder lawsuits to pay substantial compensation for failure to protect users.

Talcum Powder Settlements and Payouts

Has anyone received money from talcum powder lawsuits? Yes.

The total amount paid out in these cases reached $5 billion (and counting). Just how much is a talcum powder lawsuit settlement? The average settlement for a talcum powder lawsuit is difficult to calculate for a few reasons.

When multiple plaintiffs win a settlement or damage award, they do not necessarily divide the payout equally. For example, if a class containing 1,000 plaintiffs settles a lawsuit for $100 million, you cannot assume each plaintiff received $100,000. How much will each person get from a Johnson and Johnson settlement? The class members allocate the total based on each plaintiff’s unique losses.

Second, comparing settlements and verdicts for classes to those for individual plaintiffs is an apples-and-oranges comparison. Juries do not get to know and sympathize with classes the way they do with individuals. As a result, individuals often get bigger payouts than class members.

Also, payouts depend on the harm suffered. Mesothelioma is an incurable, terminal lung disease. Ovarian cancer, while serious, is survivable. Plaintiffs with mesothelioma will likely be able to show greater losses than those who were successfully cured of ovarian cancer.

Finally, some settlement amounts remain confidential. While there are some data points to look at, you will not have the complete picture showing all the settlement or damage award amounts.

With those caveats in mind, payouts from settlements and damage awards have ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars per claimant.

These payouts varied based on individual circumstances, including the severity of harm caused and the amount of evidence linking the use of talcum powder to the development of the illness. It’s important to note that while some cases have very high payouts, others might be significantly lower.

Some Settlement Amounts in Talcum Powder Lawsuits

The first lawsuit alleging a link between cancer and talcum powder was filed in 2013. How long does it take to settle a talcum powder case? These first cases took several years to resolve. But as the pace of talcum powder lawsuits picked up, J&J has used a combination of bankruptcy filings and rigorous attempts to settle as many claims as possible to try to save itself from financial ruin.

Talcum powder settlement amounts and damage awards have been all over the map. Starting with the pending lawsuits, J&J offered to settle 60,000 talcum powder lawsuits for $8.9 billion. It then revised its offer to settle 50,000 of those lawsuits for $6.9 billion. The difference between the two offers is that the first covered all talcum powder injuries while the second only covered ovarian cancer cases.

Thus, the most current Johnson and Johnson lawsuit payout offer covers 50,000 ovarian cancer plaintiffs and would pay them $6.9 billion. This averages to $138,000 per plaintiff, but remember that this number will not reflect the actual amounts received because it treats all of the plaintiffs equally.

This leaves roughly 10,000 cases that asserted mesothelioma as an injury from talc products. If J&J offers the remaining $2 billion to these plaintiffs, the average settlement for a talcum powder lawsuit asserting mesothelioma would be $200,000. This differential is based on the more dire outcomes of this disease. However, this offer has yet to be made.

Past Settlements

You should not rely on past settlements to predict future outcomes. But some settlements that have been publicly announced include the following:

In 2018, Ann Zoas settled with J&J for $1.5 million. Her claim was based on mesothelioma that was caused by talcum products.

Also, in 2018, J&J lost a jury trial in Missouri. The jury awarded $4.69 billion to 22 women who suffered ovarian cancer. In 2020, an appeal court reduced the award to $2.1 billion but also threw out 17 of the 22 plaintiffs. Thus, the final verdict was $2.1 billion, shared by five plaintiffs.

Soon after the 2020 appeal decision, J&J offered to settle 1,000 cases for $100 million. Even after this settlement, J&J still faced 2,000 additional cases.

In 2022, J&J shifted tactics. Realizing its liability for talcum powder injuries could ruin the company, J&J declared bankruptcy. At the time of this move, J&J had 38,000 talcum powder lawsuits pending against it. The move to bankruptcy would have created a fund for settling claims of $2 billion or about $52,600 per plaintiff. J&J’s bankruptcy maneuver was defeated.

One of the few trials during J&J’s bankruptcy gambit occurred in California in 2023. A jury awarded $18.8 million to a 24-year-old man, Emory Hernandez Valadez, who claimed that J&J’s products caused a deadly form of mesothelioma that damaged the membrane surrounding the heart. Sadly, media reports suggest that Mr. Valadez would not see a Johnson and Johnson settlement check in 2023 due to his failing health.

Filing a Talcum Powder Lawsuit

Victims who have developed talc-acquired cancer and lung problems are eligible to file a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the product. However, to do this, the victims should consult professional legal help.

Attorneys who focus on product liability cases can greatly help the victims of talcum powder lawsuits to proceed with the case further. Product liability cases demand specialized knowledge and strategic prowess. ConsumerShield provides many educational resources explaining talcum powder lawsuits.

Get a Free Talcum Powder Case Review Today

Our main focus is on older people and those directly impacted by the problems related to talcum powder. We can connect you with experienced lawyers who know how to handle the complicated details of class action lawsuits. Each of these lawyers has been chosen because they are skilled at dealing with the specific challenges of these kinds of cases.

Our service is a reliable source of important information for anyone who wants updates on talcum powder lawsuits, including cases involving Johnson & Johnson. We ensure you have the latest information on lawsuits involving their talcum powder products. As the legal process goes on, we ensure you have the knowledge you need to make informed decisions.

Understanding legal processes can be confusing, especially when it comes to deadlines. Fill out our contact form for a free case review by ConsumerShield.