A Minnesota jury on Friday awarded $65.5 million to a mother of three who alleged that Johnson & Johnson talc products 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 she used her baby powder throughout her childhood and later developed mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused primarily by exposure to the carcinogen 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-based products to consumers despite knowing they could be contaminated with asbestos.
Carley’s lawyers also said her family was never warned of potential dangers from using the product on their child.
The product was pulled from shelves in the US in 2020.
“This case wasn’t just about compensation. It was about truth and accountability,” said Carley’s attorney Ben Braly.
Erik Haas, global vice president of litigation at Johnson & Johnson, argued that the company’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.
He expects an appeals court to reverse the decision.
The verdict is the latest development in a long-running legal battle over claims that talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, which affect the lungs and other organs.
Johnson & Johnson will stop selling powder made with talc worldwide in 2023.
“These lawsuits are based 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, claiming she developed the cancer because the baby powder she used was contaminated with asbestos.
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