J&J Ordered to Pay $40 Million in Talc Powder Cancer Case
A California jury has awarded $40 million to two women who said Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder caused their ovarian cancer. The verdict, delivered Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, grants $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband.
The jury found that J&J knew its talc products posed risks for decades but failed to warn consumers. Kent was diagnosed in 2014 and Schultz in 2018, both having used the powder regularly and undergone major surgeries and chemotherapy.
J&J’s VP of litigation, Erik Haas, said the company will appeal, calling the verdict “aberrant.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued the company hid known dangers since the 1960s. J&J maintains its products are safe, asbestos-free, and non-carcinogenic, and stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, replacing it with a cornstarch version.
The company faces lawsuits from over 67,000 plaintiffs, mostly ovarian cancer claims, with some alleging mesothelioma. Previous verdicts have reached billions, though J&J has won or reduced others on appeal.
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