A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary filed for bankruptcy for a third time on Friday as the healthcare giant seeks to advance an approximately $8 billion proposed settlement that would end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the “Company”) announced that its subsidiary, Red River Talc LLC (“Red River”), filed a voluntary prepackaged Chapt

Johnson & Johnson said it received overwhelming support for a roughly $8 billion settlement of claims that its talc-based baby powder caused cancer, a key step as the company makes its third attempt to resolve thousands of lawsuits in bankruptcy court.

(Reuters) - A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary filed for bankruptcy for a third time on Friday as the healthcare giant seeks to advance an approximately $8 billion proposed settlement that would end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company's baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

“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.

A Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary, Red River Talc, that has been formed to handle claims related to the healthcare giant's talc-based products, filed a voluntary prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case Friday to resolve current and future claims linked to ovarian cancer.

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