Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
A jury has awarded $65.5 million to a mother of three who claimed to have created a talcum product johnson and johnson exposed him Asbestos and contributed to its development cancer In the lining of his lungs.
Jurors in Minnesota determined Friday that Anna Jean Haughton Carley, 37, should be compensated by Johnson & Johnson after she used baby powder as a child and later developed mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused primarily by exposure to the carcinogen asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal the decision.
During a 13-day hearing in Ramsey County District Court, Carly’s legal team argued that the pharmaceutical giant sold and marketed a talc-based product to consumers despite knowing it might be contaminated with asbestos.
Carly’s attorneys also said that her family was never warned about the potential dangers when using the product on their child. The product was removed from shelves in the US in 2020.
Carly’s attorney Ben Braley said, “This case was not just about compensation. It was about truth and accountability.”
Eric Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice president of litigation, argued that the company’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer. He hopes the appeals court will overturn the decision.
The ruling is the latest development in a long-running legal battle over claims that talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Body Powder was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, which attacks the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson will stop selling powder made from talcum powder worldwide in 2023.
“These lawsuits are based on ‘junk science’ that is refuted by decades of studies showing that Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer,” Haas said in a statement after the verdict.
Earlier this month, a Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million to two women who claimed Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer. And in October, another California jury ordered the company to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, claiming she got the cancer because the baby powder she used was contaminated with asbestos.