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J&J hit with $40 million jury verdict in ovarian cancer talc case, company to appeal
US jury awards damages to two women linking long-term use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder to ovarian cancer, in the latest setback in the company’s prolonged talc litigation battle.
J&J faces allegations that it did not warn the consumers about the health risks, including cancer, that was linked to the talc-based baby powder. (Image source: Moneycontrol)
A Los Angeles jury has reportedly awarded $40 million in damages to two women who alleged that long-term use of talcum powder manufactured by Johnson & Johnson caused their ovarian cancer. The healthcare conglomerate, as per an AP report, said it will challenge the verdict and the compensatory damages awarded by the court.
The ruling marks another chapter in the years-long legal dispute surrounding claims that talc-based products, including Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, are linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson discontinued the sale of talc-based powders globally in 2023.
In the latest case, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Their lawyer, Daniel Robinson of Newport Beach-based Robinson Calcagnie, said the women had used the company’s products for decades, arguing that their loyalty to the brand ultimately came at a heavy personal cost.
Johnson & Johnson, however, rejected the jury’s findings.
Erik Haas, the company’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement that J&J had prevailed in 16 of the 17 ovarian cancer cases it had previously taken to trial and expressed confidence that the December 12 verdict would also be overturned on appeal. He added that the decision was at odds with “decades of independent scientific evaluations” concluding that talc is safe, asbestos-free and does not cause cancer.
The verdict follows another major loss for the company in October, when a California jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, after finding that her cancer was caused by asbestos-contaminated baby powder.
Johnson & Johnson began replacing talc with cornstarch in its baby powder sold across most of North America in 2020, citing falling sales. In April this year, a US bankruptcy court judge also rejected the company’s proposed $9 billion settlement plan aimed at resolving thousands of ovarian and other gynecological cancer claims linked to its talc products.
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