Johnson & Johnson faces largest fines in US history
Illustrative photo: record-breaking fine (Getty Images)
A Los Angeles jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million in damages in a case linking the company’s talc-based baby powder to cancer.
The verdict marks one of the largest financial penalties in US corporate history, according to Reuters.
A California woman, Mae Moore, died in 2021 at the age of 88. That same year, her family filed a lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder contained asbestos fibers that caused a rare form of cancer.
The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages. However, the punitive amount could be reduced on appeal, as the US Supreme Court has ruled that such damages generally should not exceed nine times the compensatory award.
J&J said it would immediately appeal the verdict, calling it "unjust and unconstitutional." Erik Haas, the company’s vice president of legal affairs, claimed the plaintiffs’ lawyers relied on "junk science." The company maintains that its products are safe, contain no asbestos, and do not cause cancer.
J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020, switching to a cornstarch-based formula instead. Mesothelioma, the disease in question, is known to be linked to asbestos exposure.
Attorney Trey Branham, representing Moore’s family, said after the verdict that he hopes the company will "finally accept responsibility for these senseless deaths."
To date, more than 67,000 lawsuits have been filed against J&J by individuals claiming to have developed cancer after using the company’s baby powder and other talc products. Most cases involve ovarian cancer, while mesothelioma cases make up a smaller share.
J&J has previously attempted to resolve the litigation through bankruptcy proceedings, but federal courts have rejected those attempts three times. Some mesothelioma cases have been settled individually, though no nationwide settlement has been reached, and numerous lawsuits continue in state courts.
Over the past year, J&J has faced several major verdicts related to mesothelioma but has also won some cases, including a recent trial in South Carolina where the company was cleared of liability. In Oregon, a judge allowed a retrial after reducing a $260 million verdict.
Earlier, a French court reopened the investigation into Air France Flight AF447, which crashed 16 years ago, killing 228 people, after new evidence emerged.
