Arnold & Itkin LLP takes talcum powder lawsuits from people diagnosed with ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers who used talc-based products such as Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower. The Houston firm files these as individual claims on a contingency-fee basis, and its cases sit inside a mass tort where Johnson & Johnson’s attempts to resolve everything through bankruptcy have collapsed and juries have continued returning large verdicts through late 2025.
What Claims the Firm Handles
Arnold & Itkin investigates claims tied to Johnson’s Baby Powder, Shower to Shower, Gold Bond Medicated Powder, and other talc products sold by companies including Estée Lauder, Nivea, and McKesson.1Arnold & Itkin LLP. Talcum Powder The firm represents people diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, uterine, endometrial, cervical, and vaginal cancers, as well as mesothelioma.
The legal theory has two parts. The first is that manufacturers failed to warn consumers about cancer risks. The second is that some talc products contained asbestos, a known carcinogen, while being marketed as safe. Jason Itkin, one of the firm’s founders, has said publicly that Johnson & Johnson “knew that its talcum powder contained asbestos and decided not to let anyone know of the danger.”2Arnold & Itkin LLP. Attorney Jason Itkin Featured in Johnson & Johnson
Itkin has also criticized J&J’s proposed bankruptcy settlements as inadequate, telling ABC7 that one proposed deal “does not even pay for most victims’ medical bills” and noting that ovarian cancer treatment alone can cost between $140,000 and $1.4 million per patient.3ABC7. Johnson and Talc Settlement Powder Lawsuit The firm has stated it has tried multiple cases against J&J and its subsidiaries, including the 2019 Philadelphia trial that produced an $8 billion Risperdal punitive damages verdict for a single plaintiff.4The New York Times. Johnson and Johnson Risperdal Verdict
One point on scope. The talcum powder page on the firm’s website references a verdict exceeding $70 million — $2.5 million in compensatory damages, $65 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson, and $2.5 million in exemplary damages against Imerys Talc America — but presents it as an example from the broader talc litigation, not a case the firm itself tried.1Arnold & Itkin LLP. Talcum Powder
Who Can File and How Filing Works
To bring a talcum powder claim, a person generally needs a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, or a related cancer, together with a history of regular use of talc-based products.5Motley Rice LLC. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Settlement Family members or an estate can file on behalf of someone who has died.
These are individual claims, not class actions. Many are consolidated for pre-trial handling in multidistrict litigation before Judge Michael A. Shipp in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (MDL 2738), but each plaintiff’s facts are evaluated separately and each case resolves through its own settlement or trial verdict.6United States District Court, District of New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Litigation No global settlement exists for individual personal injury claims. Attorneys typically take these cases on contingency, meaning the client pays nothing unless there is a recovery.
Deadlines matter, and they vary. Statutes of limitations run from one to six years depending on the state, measured from the diagnosis or from the point a person could reasonably have connected the illness to talc use, a concept known as the discovery rule.7FindLaw. Time Limits for Filing Product Liability Cases State by State Legal industry estimates put the average individual talc settlement at roughly $500,000, though actual amounts vary widely with the severity of the diagnosis and medical costs, and most final numbers are confidential. Complex cases can take three to seven years to reach resolution.
Where the Litigation Stands
Approximately 67,623 cases were pending in the New Jersey MDL as of May 2026, with more than 90,000 total claims filed against companies selling talc products.8Seeger Weiss LLP. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Settlement Johnson & Johnson maintains that its products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and do not cause cancer, and points to a trial record it describes as 16 wins out of 17 ovarian cancer cases tried over the past 11 years, along with settlements of 95% of filed mesothelioma lawsuits.9Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson to Return to Tort System to Defeat Meritless Talc Claims The company removed talc-based baby powder from the North American market in 2020 and globally in 2023.
The Bankruptcy Route Is Closed
J&J tried three times to resolve the talc claims through Chapter 11, using a strategy sometimes called the “Texas two-step” in which talc liabilities were transferred to a subsidiary that then filed for bankruptcy. The first two attempts, through subsidiary LTL Management, were dismissed by the Third Circuit in January 2023 and again in July 2023 for lack of genuine financial distress.8Seeger Weiss LLP. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Settlement
The third attempt, filed in September 2024 through a subsidiary called Red River Talc LLC, proposed roughly $9 billion to resolve ovarian cancer claims. On March 31, 2025, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez rejected the plan, citing problems with the voting procedures and the inclusion of third-party releases.10Law360. J&J Talc Spinoff’s Ch. 11 Case Gets Tossed, Erasing $9B Deal J&J announced it would not appeal and would defend cases individually in the tort system, reversing approximately $7 billion it had reserved for the deal.9Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson to Return to Tort System to Defeat Meritless Talc Claims
Kenvue and Additional Defendants
J&J spun off its consumer health business as Kenvue in 2023 but agreed to keep all U.S. and Canadian talc liabilities and to indemnify Kenvue for them. Kenvue remains liable for talc litigation arising outside North America.11Reuters. Kenvue’s Legal Risks Loom Over Planned Acquisition by Kimberly-Clark In August 2025, Judge Shipp ruled that MDL plaintiffs could add Kenvue, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson Holdco as defendants, adopting a special master’s finding that these entities plausibly continued the operations of J&J’s former consumer unit.12New Jersey Law Journal. MDL Judge Allows Talc Plaintiffs to Sue Additional Johnson & Johnson Affiliates
Recent Verdicts
Juries have continued to award large sums in individual trials since the bankruptcy path closed:
- December 2025: a Baltimore jury awarded $1.5 billion in punitive damages and $59.8 million in compensatory damages to Cherie Craft, diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, finding J&J, two subsidiaries, and Kenvue liable.13Fierce Pharma. Baltimore Jury Orders J&J to Pay $1.5B, Largest Ever Award to Talc Plaintiff
- October 2025: a California jury awarded $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, who died of mesothelioma in 2021, though the compensatory portion was later reduced to $16 million.14Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements
- December 2025: a Minnesota jury awarded $65.5 million to a 37-year-old woman with cancer in the lining of her lungs.
- December 2025: a California jury returned a $40 million verdict for two women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.8Seeger Weiss LLP. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Settlement
- 2018: a Missouri jury awarded $4.7 billion to 22 women with ovarian cancer, reduced on appeal to $2.1 billion for five remaining plaintiffs. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn the reduced amount in 2021.
The Science the Cases Rely On
Two scientific arguments run through the litigation. The first is asbestos contamination. Talc and asbestos form in nature near each other, and mined talc can contain asbestos fibers, which are an established cause of mesothelioma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies asbestos-contaminated talc as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).15Asbestos.com. Talc Lawsuits As of 2026, no test can guarantee a talc product is completely asbestos-free.16Mesothelioma.com. Talc Powder and Asbestos Exposure
The second concerns talc itself, apart from asbestos, and ovarian cancer. In July 2024, IARC upgraded talc (not containing asbestos) from Group 2B (“possibly carcinogenic”) to Group 2A (“probably carcinogenic to humans”), citing limited epidemiological evidence of increased ovarian cancer in women who reported perineal use of body powder, sufficient evidence in animal studies, and strong mechanistic evidence that talc induces chronic inflammation and alters cell proliferation.17IARC. IARC Monographs Volume 136 Press Release IARC cautioned that the human studies could not fully rule out reporting bias or asbestos contamination as confounders.
The science remains contested. Some researchers have argued that case-control studies linking talc to ovarian cancer suffer from recall bias and lack a consistent dose-response relationship.18National Center for Biotechnology Information. Cosmetic Talc and Ovarian Cancer In January 2026, a special master in the MDL ruled that plaintiffs’ experts could testify about the talc-ovarian cancer link, finding the dispute was for a jury to decide.19Sokolove Law. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Updates
About the Firm
Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin founded Arnold & Itkin in 2004. The firm now operates offices in Houston, Dallas, Midland, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, and Albuquerque, and reports more than $25 billion in total recoveries across all practice areas.20Arnold & Itkin LLP. Achievements Beyond talcum powder, the firm handles maritime and offshore accidents, plant and refinery explosions, trucking accidents, and pharmaceutical litigation.
Its largest individual results include the $8 billion Risperdal verdict against J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals in 2019, a $2.25 billion Roundup verdict in 2024, an $860 million crane accident verdict in 2023, and a $557 million train accident verdict in 2023.21Arnold & Itkin LLP. Our Victories Both founders belong to the Inner Circle of Advocates, and the firm holds Tier 1 rankings from Best Lawyers in mass tort litigation, personal injury, and admiralty and maritime law in Houston.