Johnson’s Baby Powder Mesothelioma Lawsuit Ends in $63M Verdict for Plaintiff

Jury added $30 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson, to punish the corporation for recklessly endangering the safety of consumers.

A jury in South Carolina has ordered Johnson & Johnson and American International Industries to pay $63.4 million to a man who developed mesothelioma from Johnson’s Baby Powder, following years of exposure to asbestos particles in the talc-based product.

The verdict came in a case brought by Michael Perry, who presented evidence at trial that the manufacturer knew that talc used in Johnson’s Baby Powder was contaminated with asbestos, but failed to warn consumers about the potential health risks associated with exposure to the toxic substance.

Johnson & Johnson has faced tens of thousands of Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits in recent years, with most of the claims brought by women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. However, a number also involve other talcum powder users diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer only known to be caused by exposure to asbestos.

While Johnson & Johnson has struggled to resolve the talcum powder ovarian cancer claims, the company has indicated that it settled about 95% of all lawsuits involving mesothelioma earlier this year. However, it was unable to prevent the Perry case from going to trial.

After hearing evidence in the case, a South Carolina state jury in Richland County determined that Johnson & Johnson and American International Industries were both liable for Perry’s mesothelioma diagnosis late last week, ordering the companies to pay Perry $32.6 million in compensatory damages.

In addition, the jury also determined that Johnson & Johnson should pay Perry an additional $30 million, and American Industrial Industries another $760,000, in punitive damages, which are designed to punish the companies for recklessly disregarding the safety of consumers.

Although Johnson & Johnson denied for years that their talcum powder products contained asbestos, the company issued a Baby Powder recall in October 2019, after testing determined that some bottles of the talcum powder product contained levels of chrysotile asbestos.

Asbestos exposure is known to be the primary cause of mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer that attacks the lining of the chest and lungs, and can go undetected for decades. As a result it is often at a very advanced stage by the time it is diagnosed, resulting in a limited life expectancy.

Perry was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2023, at the age of 53.

August 2024 Johnsons Baby Powder Lawsuit Update

Johnson & Johnson currently faces an estimated 60,000 talcum powder-related lawsuits that are working through the U.S. court system, and several of the cases that have already gone to trial against the company have resulted in billions of dollars in damages being awarded to former consumers.

While many of the claims, like Perry’s, involve former users diagnosed with mesothelioma, most of the remaining claims involve the development of ovarian cancer among adult women, after years of applying the contaminated talcum powder around the genitals for feminine hygiene purposes.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system, all talcum powder cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson specifically have been centralized in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey since 2016.

Rather than attempting to negotiate settlements to potentially resolve claims, Johnson & Johnson has made two failed attempts to force the litigation into the U.S. bankruptcy system, by transferring all liability it owes for failing to warn about the link between talc and cancer into a new subsidiary, which then promptly filed for bankruptcy. However, federal judges rejected both efforts, noting that the parent company Johnson & Johnson faced no real financial distress from the litigation, and has sufficient assets to settle the claims.

In May, Johnson & Johnson proposed a third bankruptcy attempt, including a $6.5 billion settlement to resolve all current and future Baby Powder lawsuits involving women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. More than 75% of plaintiffs have reportedly signed off on the deal in a recent secret talcum powder settlement vote, but the company continues to face fierce opposition from several plaintiffs who maintain that the amount of the offer is insufficient.

Johnson & Johnson is expected to file the proposal in Texas bankruptcy court in the near future. If approved, the company would pay $6.5 billion over 25 years to resolve current and future talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits.