Tue Oct 07 17:47:19 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $966 Million in Baby Powder Cancer Case**
Los Angeles, CA – A Los Angeles court has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, who died of mesothelioma in 2021. The verdict finds the pharmaceutical giant liable in a lawsuit alleging that its talc-based baby powder contained asbestos fibers that caused Moore’s cancer.
The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages. However, this could be reduced on appeal.
J&J plans to appeal the ruling, calling it “egregious and unconstitutional.” Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, stated that the plaintiff’s arguments were based on “junk science.” The company maintains that its products are safe, asbestos-free, and do not cause cancer.
This is not the first time J&J has faced such a lawsuit. In 2016, they were ordered to pay $72 million to the family of Jacqueline Fox, who died of ovarian cancer. In 2024, J&J was also ordered to pay $700m to settle lawsuits alleging it misled consumers about safety.
J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020 and globally in 2023.
Trey Branham, an attorney for the Moore family, expressed hope that J&J will “finally accept responsibility for these senseless deaths.”
J&J is facing lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs who claim they developed cancer after using its talc products. While the majority involve ovarian cancer claims, a smaller subset alleges mesothelioma.
The company has attempted to resolve the widespread litigation through bankruptcy proceedings, but these efforts have been rejected three times by federal courts.
While J&J has previously settled some mesothelioma claims, it has not reached a nationwide settlement, leading to ongoing trials in state courts. The company has also won some mesothelioma trials, including one last week in South Carolina.
This latest verdict is among the largest against J&J in mesothelioma cases.
First Piper 