Johnson & Johnson to Pay $966 Million to Victim’s Family in Baby Powder Cancer Case: What’s Behind This?

A Los Angeles jury has ordered pharma giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure, finding the company liable in the latest trial that alleges the company’s products cause cancer.

The state court jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, according to court filings. The award will go to the deceased Mae Moore’s family, which sued the company in 2021, claiming J&J’s baby talc powder products contained asbestos fibres that caused the cancer. Moore, a California resident, had died at 88 the same year.

Implications of the Verdict

Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice-president of litigation, has said in a statement that the company plans to appeal the “egregious and unconstitutional verdict that is... at odds... with the vast majority of other talc cases wherein the company has prevailed.”

The company has also said its products are safe, do not contain asbestos and do not cause cancer. In 2020, J&J stopped selling its talc-based baby powder in the US and switched to a cornstarch product.

The verdict may be reduced on appeal as the US Supreme Court has found that punitive damages should not be more than nine times the compensatory damage. However, this is not the first time J&J has been ordered to pay damages to a family following a lawsuit alleging links between its baby powder products and cancer.

In 2016, a court ordered the company to $72 million to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer and in 2024, it was ordered to pay $700 million to settle lawsuits alleging it misled consumers on safety. Altogether, J&J is facing lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs who say they were diagnosed with cancer after using its baby powder and other talc products.

Not a New Scandal

While J&J stopped selling its talc-based baby powder globally in 2023 following lawsuits claiming its use was linked to cancer, court filings reveal that the company knew as early as the 1970s that the products contained asbestos. Firstpost reports that from 1971 to the 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders would occasionally test positive for small amounts of asbestos, and company executives, scientists and lawyers had discussed how to address the problem while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.

An analysis of the documents by news agency Reuters also shows successful efforts were made to influence US regulators’ plans to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc products and the effects of asbestos on human health. Despite the lawsuits and payments of billions to complainants, the company has refuted claims of contamination. It has also insisted that regular tests have shown that the baby powder is asbestos-free.