A US jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $1.5 billion to a woman who claimed its talc products caused her cancer, a verdict the firm calls unconstitutional.
BALTIMORE: A jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record USD 1.5 billion to a woman who claimed its talc products caused her cancer.
The Baltimore jury found J&J, two subsidiaries, and spinoff Kenvue liable for failing to warn plaintiff Cherie Craft that its baby powder contained asbestos.
Craft was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos, in January 2024.
The award includes USD 59.84 million in compensatory damages and USD 1.5 billion in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson immediately vowed to appeal, calling the verdict “egregious” and “patently unconstitutional.”
The company’s worldwide vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, said the decision resulted from “gross errors” by the trial court.
He reiterated J&J’s long-standing position that its talc products are safe and do not contain asbestos.
“These lawsuits are predicated on junk science,” Haas said in a statement.
The plaintiff’s law firm said the award was the largest-ever sum against J&J for a single plaintiff.
Attorney Jessica Dean said Craft used Johnson’s Baby Powder every day until her cancer diagnosis.
“Her cancer was preventable,” Dean stated.
J&J faces lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs alleging its talc products caused cancer.
The company has consistently denied these claims and previously sought to resolve litigation via a bankruptcy settlement.
Courts have rejected those settlement efforts, which would have allocated billions to claimants.
J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the United States in 2020 and globally in 2023.
The firm now sells cornstarch-based alternatives.
The Maryland verdict follows a California jury awarding USD 40 million to two women in a similar case earlier in December.
Many large awards against J&J in talc cases have been reduced or overturned on appeal.
The company has set aside billions for litigation costs and settlements as it continues to fight claims nationwide.
