Johnson & Johnson has been mandated to pay $4.7 billion in damages to 22 women who claimed that the company's talc products led to their ovarian cancer.
A Missouri jury initially awarded $550 million in compensatory damages and an additional $4.1 billion in punitive damages. This verdict is part of the pharmaceutical giant's ongoing legal battle, with approximately 9,000 cases concerning its well-known baby powder.
Expressing disappointment, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to appeal the decision. During the six-week trial, the women and their families testified that prolonged use of baby powder and other talc products resulted in ovarian cancer. Tragically, six of the 22 women involved in the case have died from the disease.
The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that Johnson & Johnson had known about asbestos contamination in their talc since the 1970s but failed to inform consumers of the risks. Talc, a mineral often located near asbestos deposits, was alleged to have been contaminated.
Johnson & Johnson refuted these claims, asserting that their products have never contained asbestos and do not cause cancer. The company cited numerous studies affirming the safety of their talc and criticized the trial's outcome as the result of an "unfair process."
A study commissioned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2009 to 2010 tested various talc samples, including those from Johnson & Johnson, and found no asbestos. However, the prosecution argued in court that both the FDA and Johnson & Johnson employed flawed testing methods
A Missouri jury initially awarded $550 million in compensatory damages and an additional $4.1 billion in punitive damages. This verdict is part of the pharmaceutical giant's ongoing legal battle, with approximately 9,000 cases concerning its well-known baby powder.
Expressing disappointment, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to appeal the decision. During the six-week trial, the women and their families testified that prolonged use of baby powder and other talc products resulted in ovarian cancer. Tragically, six of the 22 women involved in the case have died from the disease.
The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that Johnson & Johnson had known about asbestos contamination in their talc since the 1970s but failed to inform consumers of the risks. Talc, a mineral often located near asbestos deposits, was alleged to have been contaminated.
Johnson & Johnson refuted these claims, asserting that their products have never contained asbestos and do not cause cancer. The company cited numerous studies affirming the safety of their talc and criticized the trial's outcome as the result of an "unfair process."
A study commissioned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2009 to 2010 tested various talc samples, including those from Johnson & Johnson, and found no asbestos. However, the prosecution argued in court that both the FDA and Johnson & Johnson employed flawed testing methods