J&J to Pay $37m in Compensation for Baby Powder Related Lawsuit
In a shocking turn of events, the Johnson & Johnson baby powder- soft, sweet smelling… and deadly- was found to constitute asbestos.
Now, a jury in Middlesex County, New Jersey, awarded $30 million in compensatory damages on Thursday to a man who got cancer after decades of using talcum powder. His wife was awarded $7 million in damages.
Banker Stephen Lanzo said he used Johnson & Johnson products like Shower to Shower and Baby Powder for more than 30 years, and he claimed that inhaling the powder caused his mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer that impacts the lining of the lungs.
Imerys Talc, the supplier of the talc, a mineral that’s been linked to cross-contamination with asbestos when being mined, was hit with the other 30% liability. Reuters notes it’s J&J’s first loss at trial regarding complaints about its talc products containing asbestos. There are thousands of other cases tying its talc products to ovarian cancer.
During the more than two-month trial, Lanzo’s lawyers produced stacks of internal J&J and Imerys files that showed officials of both companies were worried that asbestos was tainting talc used in baby powder and other
products as early as 1969.A J&J research scientist noted in a 1969 confidential memo, introduced as evidence, that tests at that time found asbestos in talc used in the company’s baby powder. The scientist warned the health-care company should ready itself for litigation if the information became public.
Lanzo’s attorneys also accused Imerys officials of destroying talc samples that should have been turned over to the banker so they could be tested for asbestos. Lanzo argued the talc miner ditched potential evidence.
The jurors are scheduled to return to court on today to decide whether to award punitive damages. Judge Ana Viscomi told the panel that further proceedings would take a day or two.
J&J denied Lanzo’s allegations and said Johson’s Baby Powder does not contain asbestos or cause cancer. In a corporate statement, the company said it was “disappointed” with the verdict and would reserve further comment until the jury finishes all deliberations and “the case is fully completed.”
In a statement on their website, Johnson & Johnson said: “We firmly believe that Johnson’s baby powder is safe to use. Decades of safety reviews by independent researchers and scientists have shown that cosmetic talc is safe to use with no proven causal link to cancer.”
The company has been sued by around 6,600 women who make similar claims about the link between baby powder and ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson won a similar case in November 2017 in which a woman from California also claimed that baby powder had caused her to develop mesothelioma.
In August 2017, the company lost a case in which a woman claimed that regular use of Johnson’s baby powder had caused her to develop terminal ovarian cancer. She received a record payout of $417m. However, the decision was overturned in October when a judge ruled that there was ‘insufficiency of the evidence as to the causation’.
