Jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $40 million to two cancer patients over talcum powder use
A Los Angeles jury on Friday awarded $40 million to two women who said their ovarian cancer was caused by long-term use of talcum powder products made by Johnson & Johnson.
The company said it plans to appeal both the liability finding and the compensatory damages. The verdict is the latest in a years-long wave of litigation alleging that talc used in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based powders worldwide in 2023.
In the case decided Friday, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Their attorney said the women had used the products for decades, trusting the brand for nearly 50 years, and argued that their loyalty was not returned.
Johnson & Johnson disputes the claims, pointing to what it says is extensive scientific evidence supporting the safety of talc. A company executive stated that the verdict conflicts with decades of independent research, which has consistently found that talc does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer. The executive added that the company expects to succeed on appeal.
The ruling follows another major California verdict in October, when a jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, concluding her cancer was caused by asbestos contamination in baby powder.
Amid declining sales and mounting legal pressure, the company replaced talc with cornstarch in its baby powder sold across most of North America in 2020. Earlier this year, a federal bankruptcy judge rejected Johnson & Johnson’s proposed $9 billion settlement plan aimed at resolving thousands of talc-related ovarian and gynecological cancer claims.
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