Khaberni - A Los Angeles jury on Friday awarded $40 million to two women who claimed that talcum powder manufactured by Johnson & Johnson caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
The major healthcare company said it would appeal the jury's decision on liability and damages.
This verdict is the latest development in the long legal battle over claims that talc in "Baby Powder" and "Shower to Shower" was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a type of cancer that affects the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based powder globally in 2023.
In October, another jury in California ordered the company to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma after the family claimed the powder she used was contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.
In the latest case, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Their lawyer, Daniel Robinson from the "Robinson Calcagni" office in Newport Beach, California, said, "All they did was show their loyalty to Johnson & Johnson as customers for only 50 years, and this loyalty was one-sided."
Eric Haas, Johnson & Johnson's Global Vice President of Litigation, stated in a statement that the company had won "16 out of 17 previous ovarian cancer cases it had fought", expecting the same outcome again when appealing Friday's judgment.
Haas described the jury's findings as "not consistent with decades of independent scientific evaluations that confirm talc is safe, asbestos-free, and does not cause cancer."
In 2020, Johnson & Johnson replaced talc in baby powder sold in most parts of North America with cornstarch after declining sales.
In April, a judge in a U.S. bankruptcy court rejected Johnson & Johnson's plan to pay $9 billion to settle ovarian cancer claims and other talc-related female cancer claims.
