Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay $40 Million In Latest Baby Powder Cancer Trial
A California jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $40 million in damages to two women who said long-term use of the company’s baby powder caused their ovarian cancer. The verdict comes at a critical time, as J&J continues to face tens of thousands of similar lawsuits across the United States.
What the Jury Decided
The verdict was delivered on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Jurors agreed with the plaintiffs that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its talc-based baby powder could be dangerous but failed to warn consumers.
Both women told the court they used J&J baby powder regularly for about 40 years after bathing. Kent was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014, while Schultz received her diagnosis in 2018. Their treatments included major surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy, according to trial testimony.
Allegations of Long-Known Risks
During closing arguments, the women’s attorney said Johnson & Johnson had been aware since the 1960s of a possible link between talc and cancer. He accused the company of deliberately hiding the risks from the public.
Asbestos, a known carcinogen linked to serious diseases like mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, has been at the center of many talc-related lawsuits. Plaintiffs argue that talc products were either contaminated with asbestos or posed cancer risks on their own.
Johnson & Johnson Pushes Back
Johnson & Johnson has strongly denied the claims. The company maintains that its products do not contain asbestos and do not cause cancer. Its legal team argued that no major U.S. health authority has confirmed a direct link between talc use and ovarian cancer.
In a statement, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation said the company plans to appeal the verdict immediately, adding that it expects to win, as it claims to have done in similar cases in the past.
A Much Bigger Legal Battle
This case is just one part of a massive legal challenge. According to court records, more than 67,000 plaintiffs have sued Johnson & Johnson over alleged cancer risks linked to talc products. Most of the lawsuits involve ovarian cancer, while a smaller number involve mesothelioma, a rare but deadly cancer.
J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, switching to a cornstarch version. The company has also tried multiple times to resolve the lawsuits through bankruptcy proceedings, but U.S. courts have rejected those efforts three times, most recently in April.
What Happens Next
Before its bankruptcy attempts, Johnson & Johnson had mixed results in talc trials. Some juries ruled in its favor, while others handed down massive verdicts, including a $4.69 billion award in a previous ovarian cancer case. In recent months, the company has also faced large verdicts in mesothelioma cases, including one exceeding $900 million in Los Angeles.
With bankruptcy options blocked and new trials moving forward, legal experts say Johnson & Johnson’s talc litigation is far from over.
#JohnsonAndJohnson #TalcLawsuit #BabyPowderCase #OvarianCancerAwareness #USCourtVerdict