J&J to Pay $37.2 Million to Group Blaming Powder for Cancers
- New Jersey jury hands J&J another loss at talc trial
- Company is accused of hiding risks of its baby powder
Johnson & Johnson must pay at least $37.2 million to four consumers who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for their cancers in the company’s latest loss in nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder.
A jury in J&J’s hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey, concluded Wednesday the company’s handling of the asbestos-laced baby powder and a former product, Shower-to-Shower powder, contributed to the development of cancer in the plaintiffs, said Chris Placitella, one of the group’s lawyers. Jurors awarded a total $37.2 million for the group’s actual damages. The same panel will consider punitive damages later.
Douglas Barden, 65, David Etheridge, 57, D’Angela McNeill-George, 41, and Will Ronning, 46, said they faced long-term exposure to carcinogens as children because their parents used the talc-based powders on them. All have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a specific cancer linked to asbestos. It can take years for the disease to appear.
The verdict is among more than a half-dozen trial losses for J&J. Consumers claim it hid the health risks of the baby powder for 50 years. It’s the first defeat since J&J and Colgate-Palmolive Co. persuaded a Kentucky jury last month to throw out a woman’s mesothelioma claims.
J&J officials said they believe Judge Ana Viscomi erred in several rulings and the company says its Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower weren’t tainted with asbestos.
“We will pursue an appeal of today’s verdict as soon as the final phases of this trial concludes,” Jennifer Taylor, a company spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.