On Monday, June 6, Reuters reported that Johnson & Johnson is mandated to pay an Oregon woman $260 million after she developed mesothelioma, a cancer that came from the company's talc powder. In detail, the Portland Court includes $60 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, covering both the plaintiff and her husband.
In 2023, an Oregon woman named Kyung Lee received a cancer diagnosis at age 48, which she attributed to a 30-year usage of baby powder and inhaling the asbestos-tainted talc. Lee narrated that her mother first used it on her as a baby and later used it as a deodorant.
However, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, stated the company would appeal and called the verdict "irreconcilable," citing independent scientific evaluations made decades ago that confirmed talc powder is safe. J&J reaffirms that its powders contain no asbestos and, therefore, will not and do not cause cancer of all sorts.
A lawyer for J&J argued that Lee's illness was likely caused by exposure to asbestos from a factory near her childhood home.
Is Johnson's baby powder safe?
The company has yet to provide scientifically sound and unbiased findings that align with its claims that its powders are safe. At the moment, J&J faces lawsuits from over 61,000 plaintiffs, mostly women with ovarian cancer, with a smaller number of mesothelioma cases.
Earlier this year, VCPost reported that J&J continues to seek approval for a proposed $6.48 billion settlement to resolve most talc-related lawsuits through prepackaged bankruptcy. The company needs 75% of the plaintiffs' support to approve the settlement, which would end the litigation and prevent future cases.
Courts have rejected J&J's two previous attempts to settle the talc cases in bankruptcy. A group of plaintiffs opposed to the current settlement filed a class action lawsuit on May 22, calling it a "fraudulent" abuse of the bankruptcy system, as reported by VCPost.
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