2023-07-29 14:04:09
Pharmaceutical Johnson & Johnson may not use a bankruptcy case to pressure tens of thousands of people to accept a settlement of the equivalent of 8 billion euros. That has been determined by an American judge.
It is already the second time this year that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has failed to settle numerous lawsuits over potentially carcinogenic baby powder.
The parent company of the Leiden company Janssen has about 100,000 claims due to complaints about the talcum powder, which is said to contain asbestos. Over the years, thousands of women are said to have contracted ovarian or asbestos cancer as a result.
J&J insists that the talcum powder is not harmful, but took it off the shelves and was willing to settle for about 8 billion euros.
Controversial construction
The settlement and all claims have now been placed with a company specifically set up for this purpose: LTL. The subsidiary of J&J received the billions for the settlement and was immediately declared bankrupt.
In this way, the company can do nothing more than pay out the current settlement. Such a construction is therefore controversial, because no new claims can be made by victims. Also, the compensation cannot be higher, while lawyers of victims believe that they should receive more money.
The good news for the victims is that the court has now rejected the bankruptcy petition for the second time. Judges give the same reason as the first time: they still do not see that LTL is in financial problems and therefore do not agree with a bankruptcy.
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