A Los Angeles jury has returned a record mesothelioma verdict against Johnson & Johnson on behalf of a deceased Georgia mesothelioma victim who spent most of her life in California. The family of the victim, who died in 2021, was awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson for producing asbestos-contaminated talc products that led to the victim’s mesothelioma diagnosis.
The deceased mother of three used Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products extensively as part of her daily hygiene routine for much of her life. Attorneys for the victim presented internal Johnson & Johnson company documents that showed Johnson & Johnson knew their talc products contained asbestos but failed to warn the public as they continued selling them for decades. Exposure to asbestos is known to directly cause the terminal cancer, mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling their talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada in 2022, switching to a cornstarch-based formula.
Following two days of deliberation, the jury returned the largest verdict against Johnson & Johnson for a single mesothelioma victim to date. The nearly $1 billion verdict resulted from the jury finding that Johnson & Johnson acted with malice or oppression by failing to protect their customers.
