The case occurred in the United States; company says it will appeal jury decision
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Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiaries have been ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion (the equivalent of about 8.2 billion reais) to a woman who claims that years of exposure to asbestos found in the company’s talc products caused her to develop peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that affects the membrane lining the abdomen. J&J says it will appeal the jury’s decision. The information comes from Reuters.
According to the agency, the case was heard by jurors in the Baltimore City Circuit Court in Maryland, United States. The decision was made last Monday 22, involving the company, two of its subsidiaries and Kenvue (a company that was previously part of the Consumer Health division of Johnson & Johnson and which, after a split, has been independent since 2023).
The parties are accused of failing to warn the woman, named Cherie Craft, that the baby powder she was using contained asbestos.
He was diagnosed with cancer in January last year. His compensation includes 59.84 million US dollars (330.4 million reais in damages), 1 billion US dollars (5.5 billion reais) in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and 500 million US dollars (2.7 billion reais) against Pecos River Talc, one of the company’s subsidiaries.
“Cherie Craft runs a nonprofit organization where she dedicates her life to helping others. Her cancer was preventable. She used Johnson’s baby powder every day of her life until she was diagnosed with cancer,” said Jessica Dean, a partner at Dean Omar Branham Shirley, who represented the woman.
Johnson & Johnson calls the decision unconstitutional. “We will immediately appeal this verdict,” Erik Haas, vice president of global litigation at J&J, said in a statement. For him, the decision results from “gross errors” by the trial court and remains “in contradiction” with most other talc cases in which the company has been involved. “These processes are based on bogus science,” he believes.
Always according to ReutersThe company faces lawsuits from more than 67,000 people who say they were diagnosed with cancer after using baby powder and other talc products. J&J denies the allegations.
The company stopped selling baby powder in 2020 in the United States and globally in 2023. Cornstarch-based alternatives are now offered.
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