Cancer Lawsuit Guide: Toxic Products, Drugs and Chemicals

Some people who’ve developed cancer after using specific products have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers. Due to the similar nature of many of these lawsuits, courts have combined some of them into mass tort litigation, a legal action that allows multiple people to sue a defendant for damages caused by the same product.

Active and past mass tort litigations include those for talcum powder, hair relaxers, PFAS (also known as “forever chemicals”) and contaminated medications.

Drugwatch tracks these products and provides litigation updates. Our readers can learn about the latest cancer lawsuit updates and sign up for a free case evaluation with our legal partners.

Since the 1960s, studies found an association between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. A 1982 study linked ovarian cancer to genital use of talcum powder, and further research confirmed this link. According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the risk of developing ovarian cancer is greater with frequent and long-term genital talc use.

Johnson & Johnson has long claimed its talc products are safe. But in 2022, the company announced it would stop selling talc-based baby powder globally by 2023.

As of April 2025,  more than 58,200 talcum powder lawsuits were pending against J&J with plaintiffs claiming that Shower to Shower and Johnson’s Baby Powder led to ovarian cancer. In addition, these lawsuits allege the company failed to adequately warn the public of the risk.

The health care giant has been trying to resolve the cases through bankruptcy for years. However, in March 2025, a bankruptcy judge denied J&J’s third attempt to resolve the talcum powder lawsuits for $10 billion. J&J said it wouldn’t appeal and would proceed to litigate the claims.

Studies found an association between chemical hair relaxers and an increased risk of cancer, specifically uterine and breast cancer. Experts and plaintiffs in hair relaxer lawsuits claim manufacturers aggressively targeted Black women in their marketing and failed to warn them about the increased risk of cancer.

A 2022 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute used data from thousands of women in the Sister Study to analyze cancer risk in women who used hair relaxers. The Sister Study is an ongoing, decades-long study by the National Institutes of Health to examine “the environmental and genetic causes” of cancer in women.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute study found an increased risk of uterine cancer among women who used hair relaxers. Those who used these products more than four times a year had the greatest risk. This was one of the first studies to link hair relaxers to cancer, which led to lawsuits.

Individuals have filed lawsuits against L’Oréal, Softsheen-Carson and other manufacturers in nearly 10,000 lawsuits pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the recall of several valsartan medicines because of contamination with NDMA, a chemical classified as a probable human carcinogen.

Researchers found an association between NDMA and liver, stomach, bladder, prostate and colorectal cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Animals that ingested NDMA developed lung, liver, kidney and testicular cancer.

More than 1,300 valsartan lawsuits filed over cancer diagnoses are still pending in multidistrict litigation in New Jersey as of April 2025. Lawsuits claim that defendants’ poor manufacturing standards led to NDMA contamination and cancer risk, but they ignored the warning signs and continued to sell valsartan.

PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are synthetic chemicals found in firefighting foam, firefighter turnout gear, food packaging, clothing and other products. Studies have shown that these chemicals contaminate water supplies.

Exposure to PFAS has a link to various cancers. Research on PFAS and cancer is ongoing, but the strongest research has found associations between PFAS and an increased risk of testicular and kidney cancer.

Individuals filed lawsuits against companies that used PFAS in their products, such as 3M, DuPont, Tyco Fire Products and others, over PFAS. Legal action includes cancer claims over water contamination, firefighter turnout gear and AFFF lawsuits.

Exposure to asbestos — a naturally occurring mineral — is the most common cause of pleural mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the lining of the chest and lungs. About 80% of people who develop mesothelioma experienced asbestos exposure.

Researchers have linked mesothelioma to asbestos exposure in the workplace. It’s most likely to affect miners, ship builders, factory workers, construction workers and others who work around asbestos. Family members of these workers are also at risk because workers can carry asbestos on their clothing when they go home. Mesothelioma lawsuits claim manufacturers knew that asbestos could cause mesothelioma but failed to warn the public.

Companies that manufactured products with asbestos have paid billions in the form of asbestos trust settlements and jury verdicts. For example, the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust, which has been active since 1988, reported it had close to $620 million in total assets set aside to pay mesothelioma claims in 2024.

If doctors diagnose you with cancer linked to one of the products on this page, discuss your course of treatment with your health care team. If you file a lawsuit, keep all your medical and product records showing dates of use, diagnoses and manufacturer info.

In some cases, you might have a difficult time finding this information. A lawyer can help you collect your medical records.

You can read about the lawsuits on Drugwatch, see what it takes to qualify for a lawsuit and find out if you are eligible. You can also sign up for a free case review. Remember, only a licensed product liability lawyer can evaluate whether you meet the legal and medical requirements for filing a claim. Eligibility may depend on your diagnosis, product usage history and your state’s filing deadlines. Even if you don’t think you qualify, talk to an attorney to make sure.