The healthcare-products company is taking another shot at resolving mass cancer lawsuits in chapter 11 after two failed attempts.

A Johnson & Johnson (J&J) subsidiary has filed for bankruptcy for a third time as the healthcare giant seeks to advance an approximately US$10bil proposed settlement that would end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

Beasley Allen opposed the Chapter 11 case, which includes up to $10 billion in nominal compensation to talc claimants. 'This proposed compensation is a gross undervaluation,' principal Andy Birchfield said in a statement to Law.

“Absent a Chapter 11 resolution, the talc litigation would continue for decades, at great expense to the Debtor but with no benefit to claimants,” the J&J unit’s lawyers said in court papers. Under its latest plan, baby powder victims would receive average payouts ranging from $75,000 to $175,000 depending on the severity of their injuries.

The J&J Red River Talc unit made its filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. J&J faces lawsuits from more than 62,000 claimants who alleged that its baby powder and other talc products were contaminated with asbestos and caused ovarian and other cancers.

Red River Talc, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to settle ovarian cancer claims with an $8B settlement plan. Read more here.