Pennsylvania Jury Finds Johnson & Johnson Liable in Latest Talc Cancer Trial

A Pennsylvania state court jury on Friday awarded $250,000 to the family of a woman who alleged that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder caused her ovarian cancer, Reuters reported.

Johnson & Johnson faces lawsuits in federal and state courts from more than 67,000 plaintiffs alleging its talc-based products contained asbestos and caused ovarian and other cancers.

The jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas sided with the family of Gayle Emerson, who claimed the company knew for years that its talc-based products were dangerous but failed to warn consumers.

Jurors awarded $50,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Tisi.

Emerson, a Pennsylvania resident, filed suit in 2019 and died six months later at age 68.

Her children continued the case after her death from metastatic ovarian cancer.

According to the lawsuit, Emerson used Johnson & Johnson baby powder from 1969 until 2017, when she learned it had been linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

She had been diagnosed two years earlier.

Johnson & Johnson faces lawsuits in federal and state courts from more than 67,000 plaintiffs alleging its talc-based products contained asbestos and caused ovarian and other cancers, court filings show.