Johnson and Johnson consents to a record payment for instances of talc cancer.

Johnson And Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle claims that its talc-based baby powders caused cancer, a record-setting sum that would avoid admitting culpability in tens of thousands of cases. The money will be paid over 25 years via a subsidiary, LTL Management, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to pay for the settlement. The offer satisfied attorneys for about 70,000 plaintiffs, with lawyer Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra LLC describing it as “the culmination of a job well done” and arguing the payout would “get our clients fairly paid for their injuries.” However, lawyers for tens of thousands more plaintiffs rejected the sum. Attorneys with Beasley Allen accused J&J of seeking an extremely deep discount on justice, calling the proposed payout “woefully inadequate to cover even the current ovarian cancer and mesothelioma claims.” Any settlement out of bankruptcy would require the approval of both a bankruptcy court judge and 75% of the plaintiffs. J&J’s offer would be the largest post-bankruptcy product liability settlement on record.

J&J stopped selling its talc-based baby powder internationally only last year, despite the US Food and Drug Administration finding a potential for contamination of talc with asbestos. The company already lost nine cases related to its talc products of the 41 that have gone to trial, and one high-profile case resulted in a $4.7 billion judgment against J&J. It has won, mistrialed, or successfully appealed 32 cases.