Johnson & Johnson lawsuits span decades and touch nearly every part of the company’s business, from talcum powder and metal hip implants to the antipsychotic Risperdal, opioids, transvaginal mesh, the blood thinner Xarelto, the bladder drug Elmiron, and Tylenol. The company and its subsidiaries have been defendants in hundreds of thousands of claims and have paid out billions in settlements, jury verdicts, and government penalties. The largest active exposure by far is talc: roughly 68,000 cases are pending in the federal multidistrict litigation as of June 2026, and more than 90,000 talc claims have been filed overall.1Sokolove Law. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Updates2TorHoerman Law. Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
Talcum Powder
Plaintiffs allege that J&J’s talc-based baby powder was contaminated with asbestos and caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. The company discontinued talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada but maintains its talc products were safe and asbestos-free.2TorHoerman Law. Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
The Biggest Verdicts
A St. Louis jury awarded $4.69 billion in July 2018 to 22 women who alleged asbestos-contaminated baby powder caused their ovarian cancer. A Missouri appeals court later reduced the award to $2.12 billion for 20 of the original plaintiffs, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2021.3Lanier Law Firm. Talc Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit4Helbock Law. Top Talcum Powder Verdicts and Settlements Nationwide Other significant ovarian cancer verdicts include $417 million to Eva Echeverria in California in 2017 (later overturned on appeal), $110 million to Lois Slemp in Missouri the same year, and $72 million to Jacqueline Fox in 2016 (overturned for lack of jurisdiction).5Bryant PSC. Talcum Powder Verdicts
Mesothelioma cases have produced the most striking recent awards. In December 2025, a Baltimore jury ordered the company to pay $1.56 billion to Cherie Craft, a 59-year-old woman with peritoneal mesothelioma, the largest talc verdict awarded to a single plaintiff. J&J has said it will appeal.6Fierce Pharma. Baltimore Jury Orders J&J to Pay $1.5B In October 2025, a California jury awarded $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, though a judge later struck the $950 million punitive damages portion and left $16 million in compensatory damages intact.7Sokolove Law. Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuits A Portland jury awarded $260 million to Kyung Lee in June 2024, including $200 million in punitive damages.8Brayton Law. Verdicts That Shook Johnson and Johnson
The Failed Bankruptcy Strategy
J&J tried three times to resolve talc liability through a maneuver known as the “Texas two-step,” creating subsidiaries, assigning them the talc liabilities, and then placing those subsidiaries into Chapter 11 with a proposed settlement trust. Two attempts using a subsidiary called LTL Management were rejected in New Jersey.3Lanier Law Firm. Talc Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit9American Bankruptcy Institute. Bankruptcy Court Dismisses Chapter 11 Plan Over Voting Irregularities10Bailey Glasser. In Re Red River Talc LLC Memorandum Decision and Order J&J announced it would not appeal.
Where Things Stand Now
With bankruptcy off the table, the cases are back in the regular court system. Retired U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson, serving as court-appointed special master, ruled in January 2026 that plaintiffs’ experts may testify that talc use is linked to ovarian cancer, finding their scientific methods reliable. That ruling covers tens of thousands of consolidated cases. The first federal bellwether trial, Judkins v. Johnson & Johnson, is moving through pretrial proceedings. Settlement mediation is also underway, though no global resolution has been reached.11Lawsuit Information Center. $2 Billion Verdict in Missouri Motivates J&J to Settle
DePuy Hip Implants
J&J’s orthopedic subsidiary DePuy faced massive litigation over its metal-on-metal hip implants, primarily the ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet systems. The ASR was recalled worldwide in August 2010 after actual revision rates ran near 7%, far from the 99.2% three-year survivorship the company had marketed.12DC Office of the Attorney General. AG Racine and Counterparts in 45 States Reach $120 Million Settlement
DePuy has paid approximately $6.2 billion in settlements and verdicts for ASR and Pinnacle claims combined. The largest single component was a $4 billion ASR settlement in November 2013 covering roughly 8,000 claims, followed by a $420 million ASR settlement in 2015 for about 1,800 more claims. Pinnacle cases were resolved through a $1 billion settlement in 2019 covering approximately 6,000 cases.13Drugwatch. DePuy Hip Implant Settlements DePuy also paid $120 million in 2019 to settle deceptive marketing claims brought by 46 state attorneys general.12DC Office of the Attorney General. AG Racine and Counterparts in 45 States Reach $120 Million Settlement Despite those global deals, thousands of DePuy hip implant lawsuits remain pending in federal courts in Ohio and Texas.
Risperdal
J&J’s Janssen unit faced roughly 13,400 lawsuits alleging the antipsychotic Risperdal caused gynecomastia (abnormal breast tissue growth) in boys and young men and that the company failed to warn adequately. Philadelphia trials produced large awards: $70 million to Andrew Yount in July 2016, $2.5 million to Austin Pledger in 2015, and a Nicholas Murray case in which an $8 billion punitive damages verdict was later slashed to $6.8 million.14Drugwatch. Risperdal Lawsuits15TorHoerman Law. Risperdal Lawsuit In October 2021, J&J disclosed it had settled “substantially all” of roughly 9,000 pending gynecomastia cases, recording $800 million in expenses. The company did not admit wrongdoing.
The government side cost more. Janssen and J&J paid $2.2 billion to resolve federal criminal and civil investigations into illegal promotion of Risperdal to elderly patients and children with developmental disabilities from 1999 to 2005, pleading guilty to a criminal misdemeanor for marketing the drug for unapproved uses. An Arkansas judge separately fined the companies $1.2 billion in 2012 for nearly 240,000 violations of the state’s Medicaid fraud law.16Class Law Group. Risperdal Lawsuits
Opioids
In February 2022, J&J committed up to $5 billion as part of a broader $26 billion nationwide opioid settlement alongside distributors McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health. Forty-six states and roughly 90% of eligible local governments signed on.17NPR. Opioid Settlement Johnson and Johnson $26 Billion The company did not admit wrongdoing. At least 85% of the money going to states and subdivisions must fund opioid crisis abatement, including treatment, harm reduction, and public health programs. J&J stopped marketing opioids in 2015, stopped selling them in 2020, and is barred from marketing or lobbying on opioid products for ten years.18National Opioid Settlement. Executive Summary
Transvaginal Mesh
J&J’s Ethicon subsidiary made transvaginal mesh products for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Over 100,000 U.S. lawsuits were filed across the industry after women reported chronic pain, organ perforation, and other complications; industry-wide settlements have totaled roughly $8 billion. J&J reached a $120 million settlement in January 2016 covering roughly 3,000 Ethicon mesh cases.19TorHoerman Law. Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit In Australia, the company agreed to a $300 million settlement in 2022 to resolve two class actions; that case included a landmark 2019 finding that marketing of the devices was likely to mislead or deceive patients.20The Guardian. Johnson and Johnson Reaches $300M Settlement Over Pelvic Mesh Implants J&J also lost a challenge to a separate $302 million pelvic mesh marketing judgment in 2023.21Reuters. J&J Loses Challenge to $302 Million Judgment Over Pelvic Mesh Marketing The federal MDLs for mesh cases are now closed and settled, but new lawsuits continue to be filed in state courts. The FDA banned transvaginal mesh products intended for pelvic organ prolapse in April 2019.
Xarelto
The blood thinner Xarelto, co-marketed by J&J’s Janssen unit and Bayer, generated approximately 25,000 lawsuits from patients who alleged the companies failed to warn adequately about uncontrollable bleeding. In March 2019, the two companies agreed to pay $775 million, split equally, to resolve the litigation. Neither admitted liability. Before the settlement, the companies had won all six Xarelto cases that went to trial.22The New York Times. Xarelto Blood Thinner Lawsuit Settlement23BioPharma Dive. Xarelto Lawsuits Johnson Bayer Litigation Settlement
Elmiron
Janssen faces litigation over the bladder drug Elmiron, prescribed for interstitial cystitis, which plaintiffs say caused permanent vision damage including pigmentary maculopathy and blindness. Nearly 2,000 lawsuits were filed in a federal MDL in the District of New Jersey, with 293 still pending as of mid-2026.24Drugwatch. Elmiron Lawsuits25Consumer Notice. Elmiron Lawsuits
Tylenol and Acetaminophen
A federal judge dismissed hundreds of private lawsuits in December 2023 that alleged acetaminophen use during pregnancy caused autism and ADHD in children, ruling the scientific evidence unreliable. In October 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued J&J and Kenvue (the now-independent consumer health company that owns the Tylenol brand) alleging deceptive marketing to pregnant women. The FDA, while maintaining that a causal relationship has not been established, announced in September 2025 that it would require new warning labels reflecting a “possible association” between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurological conditions.26Jurist. Texas Sues Tylenol Makers Over Alleged Links to Autism ADHD
Other Active Matters
HIV drug False Claims Act verdict. J&J and Janssen Products are appealing a $1.6 billion False Claims Act judgment tied to HIV drug marketing, consisting of $360 million in damages and nearly $1.3 billion in penalties. In August 2025, the Department of Justice filed a Third Circuit brief that partly supported the company’s arguments, calling the trial court’s jury instructions flawed and urging the appeals court to vacate the judgment and remand.27AFS Law. DOJ Files Brief on Johnson and Johnson Appeal of $1.6 Billion FCA Verdict
Remicade antitrust. After Pfizer launched a biosimilar in 2016, Pfizer alleged that Janssen used exclusionary contracts and bundled rebates to block competition and maintain over 96% market share for Remicade. Pfizer’s case settled in 2021. A separate class action by health benefit plans over the same conduct produced a $25 million settlement fund, which received final court approval in March 2023.28FindLaw. Pfizer Inc. v. Johnson and Johnson29Goodwin Law. Remicade Antitrust Settlement Receives Final Approval
Ethicon hernia mesh and staplers. Ethicon recalled its Physiomesh Flexible Composite Mesh in 2016 after reports of higher-than-average failure, and design-defect claims were consolidated in a federal MDL.30Oppenheim Law. Hernia Mesh Lawsuit The FDA issued a Class I recall in 2019 for Ethicon’s Echelon Flex Endopath Staplers over defects causing improper wound closure, covering 8,256 units distributed in August and September of that year.31Douglas and London. Ethicon Surgical Stapler Lawsuit
Who Is Liable After the Kenvue Spin-Off
J&J spun off its consumer health division in 2023 as a separate publicly traded company, Kenvue, which now owns brands including Tylenol, Band-Aid, and baby powder. For talc-related liabilities in the United States and Canada, J&J retained full responsibility and agreed to indemnify Kenvue. Kenvue remains responsible for talc liabilities outside North America. For other product lines, including Tylenol, Kenvue and its subsidiaries are named as defendants in ongoing litigation without a publicly disclosed blanket indemnification from J&J.32SEC. Kenvue SEC Filing