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 The verdict in state court in St. Louis was the largest so far to
arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits accusing J&J of not adequately
warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products
including its well-known Johnson's Baby Powder.
Many of those lawsuits are pending in St. Louis, where the J&J has
faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in $197 million
verdicts against J&J and a talc supplier.
Thursday's verdict came in a lawsuit against J&J and talc supplier
Imerys Talc by Lois Slemp, a resident of Virginia who is currently
undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer initially diagnosed
in 2012 returned and spread to her liver.
Slemp claimed she developed cancer after four decades of using
talc-containing products produced by J&J, including J&J's Baby
Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and said J&J
was 99 percent at fault while Imerys was just 1 percent. It awarded
punitive damages of $105 million against J&J and $50,000 against
Imerys.
Reuters watched the verdict through Courtroom View Network, which
broadcast it online.
"Once again we've shown that these companies ignored the scientific
evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of
America," Ted Meadows, a lawyer for Slemp and other plaintiffs, said
in a statement.
J&J in a statement said it sympathized with women impacted by
ovarian cancer but planned to appeal.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to
defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," J&J said.
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The verdict came after J&J secured its first trial win in the
Missouri litigation, when a jury in March sided with the company in
a lawsuit by a Tennessee woman who said she developed cancer after
using Baby Powder.
That verdict broke a three-trial winning streak by plaintiffs that
began with a verdict in February 2016 in which a jury awarded $72
million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer.
In May 2016, another jury awarded $55 million to a woman who said
J&J's talc-powder products caused her to develop cancer. A third
jury hit J&J and Imerys with a $70 million verdict in October.
The case is Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, 22nd Judicial Circuit of
Missouri, No. 1422-CC09326-01.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Sandra Maler and
Lisa Shumaker)
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