Johnson & Johnson faces another giant asbestos-talcum powder verdict: $65.5 million in Minnesota
A Minnesota jury awarded $65.5 million Friday to a mother of three who claimed talc products made by Johnson & Johnson exposed her to asbestos and contributed to the development of cancer in the lining of her lungs.
Jurors determined that plaintiff Anna Jean Houghton Carley, 37, should be compensated by Johnson & Johnson after using its baby powder throughout her childhood and later developing mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused primarily by exposure to cancer-causing asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal the verdict.
During a 13-day trial in Ramsey County District Court, Carley’s legal team argued that the pharmaceutical giant sold and marketed talc products to consumers even though it knew they could be contaminated with asbestos. Carley’s lawyers also said her family was never warned about the potential dangers of using the product on their child. The product was removed from shelves in the United States in 2020.
“This case wasn’t just about compensation. It was about truth and accountability,” said Carley’s attorney, Ben Braly.
Erik Haas, vice president of global litigation at Johnson & Johnson, said the company’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer. He expects an appeals court to overturn the decision.
The verdict is the latest development in a long-running legal battle over allegations that talc in Johnson’s Shower to Shower baby powder and body powder was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, which strikes the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talcum powder worldwide in 2023.
“These lawsuits rely on ‘junk science,’ refuted by decades of studies showing that Johnson & Johnson baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” Haas said in a statement after the verdict.
Earlier this month, a Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million to two women who claimed Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer. And in October, another California jury ordered the company to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, saying she developed the cancer because the baby powder she used was contaminated with asbestos.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
