In Los Angeles, California, a jury on Monday, October 6, rendered a verdict in a lawsuit involving Johnson & Johnson, ordering the company to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from Mesothelioma. This case represents the latest significant ruling among numerous similar lawsuits faced by Johnson & Johnson.
The victim in this case was Mae Moore, a resident of California who passed away in 2021 at the age of 88. Her family filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in the same year, alleging that their talcum powder products containing asbestos fibers caused Moore to develop the rare cancer.
According to court documents, the jury determined on Monday evening that Johnson & Johnson must pay $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages.
However, due to a Supreme Court ruling that punitive damages generally cannot exceed nine times compensatory damages, the punitive damages in this case may be adjusted on appeal.
Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s Vice President of Global Litigation, stated in a release that they will immediately appeal the decision, deeming it “extremely absurd and unconstitutional.” Haas alleged that the scientific evidence presented by the plaintiff’s lawyers in the Moore case was unreliable and lacking in rigor, and should not have been considered by the jury.
Johnson & Johnson stated that their products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and do not cause cancer. The company ceased selling talcum powder baby powder in the United States in 2020 and switched to a cornstarch formula. Mesothelioma is associated with long-term exposure to asbestos.
One of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Trey Branham, remarked after the ruling that his team “hopes Johnson & Johnson will ultimately take responsibility for these senseless deaths.”
Currently, over 67,000 victims and their families have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, alleging cancer after using the company’s talcum powder and other talc products. Among these cases, those attributing mesothelioma to talcum powder form a minority, with the majority of lawsuits related to ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson had attempted to resolve the lawsuits through bankruptcy proceedings, but this proposal has been rejected by federal courts three times.
The company has reached settlements with some plaintiffs, but a nationwide agreement has yet to be reached. Lawsuits regarding “mesothelioma” are included in the latest bankruptcy and settlement proposal. As a result, such litigations have been ongoing in state courts in recent months.
Over the past year, Johnson & Johnson has faced significant verdicts in several mesothelioma lawsuits, with Monday’s judgment amounting to one of the highest compensations in these related cases.
(Source: Reuters)