A jury in Los Angeles has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay nearly $1 billion to the family of Mae Moore, who passed away from mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure. The jury found the company responsible for her death, concluding that its talc-based baby powder products contained harmful asbestos fibers.
Mae Moore, who was 88 when she died in 2021, had her family file a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson the same year. They argued that the company’s talc products caused her cancer. The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and a staggering $950 million in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson plans to appeal the verdict, calling it “egregious and unconstitutional.” Erik Haas, the company’s vice president of litigation, criticized the evidence presented by the plaintiff’s lawyers, claiming it was based on unreliable science. J&J maintains that its products are safe and do not contain asbestos, emphasizing that they stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, opting for a cornstarch alternative instead.
The case is part of a larger issue for Johnson & Johnson, which faces lawsuits from over 67,000 plaintiffs alleging that their talc products caused cancer. While the majority of these lawsuits focus on ovarian cancer, a smaller number involve claims related to mesothelioma. The company has attempted to resolve these legal challenges through bankruptcy, but federal courts have rejected these proposals multiple times.
In recent months, Johnson & Johnson has faced several significant verdicts in mesothelioma-related cases, but this latest ruling is one of the largest. The company has had some success in appealing verdicts, including a notable case in Oregon where a judge overturned a $260 million award and called for a new trial.
As the legal battles continue, Mae Moore’s family and their attorney expressed hope that this verdict will prompt Johnson & Johnson to take responsibility for the harm caused by its products.
