Multi-billion dollar healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has been in negotiations for an unprecedented deal to pay $5.5 billion (£4.14 billion) in damages to approximately 76,000 lawsuits filed against the company's talcum powder which supposedly causes ovarian cancer. Even while making the offer of compensation, which needs a majority of at least 95 percent approval from plaintiffs' lawyers for it to be settled, J&J has continued to deny any wrongdoing, saying its products have no asbestos, are safe and are not carcinogenic.
The legal wrangling began in 2009, following claims that the natural talc in J&J's products was contaminated with cancerous asbestos. While J&J managed to win a ruling from a federal court which questioned the relationship between talc and specific instances of cancer, the company decided to remove all talc-based products from its portfolio in favor of cornstarch powder.