Illinois Woman Wins $45M Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue for Mesothelioma Linked to Baby Powder

A jury in Chicago ordered Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Kenvue Inc. to pay $45 million to the family of a woman who claimed their talcum-based baby powder caused her fatal mesothelioma diagnosis.

The woman, Theresa Garcia, developed the asbestos-linked cancer and died in 2020.

The family alleged that both companies knew their baby powder was contaminated with asbestos, according to court filings.

This was the first verdict against Kenvue in a decade-long legal battle over the product.

A Florida jury found Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and one of its units liable for 30% of a verdict in a talc cancer case, marking one of the first wins for talc plaintiffs since last year when a J&J unit filed for bankruptcy to avoid similar lawsuits.

J&J has maintained that its talc-based products do not cause cancer and have marketed them for over a century.

Kenvue, the unit now selling baby powder, confirmed earlier this month that it no longer produces or sells talc-based baby powder.

J&J had previously announced plans to remove talc from the North American market by 2020 and globally by December 2023, replacing it with cornstarch.

A jury has reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary, Kenvue, over their talcum powder products.

The reason given for the lawsuit was the link between the use of these products and ovarian cancer.

Melissa Witt, a spokesperson for Kenvue, did not respond to an email requesting comment on the verdict.

Erik Haas, J&J's head of in-house litigation, stated that the company intends to appeal the jury's decision.

Sales for these talcum powder products have been declining due to the ongoing lawsuits and negative publicity.