Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been found liable and ordered to pay $15 million to a U.S. man who claims his mesothelioma was caused by decades of using the company’s talc powder. A mesothelioma case is a cancer case that develops in the mesothelium, the thin tissue that lines many of the body’s internal organs.
According to Reuters, plaintiff Evan Plotkin filed a lawsuit against J&J in 2021 following his diagnosis, alleging that inhaling the company’s baby powder led to his illness. The jury’s verdict comes as J&J is attempting to resolve over 62,000 similar claims through a bankruptcy settlement worth nearly $9 billion.
While the bankruptcy deal is facing legal challenges and has temporarily halted lawsuits related to gynecological cancers, it does not affect the smaller number of mesothelioma cases, including Plotkin’s. J&J has settled some of these claims individually but has yet to propose a comprehensive settlement.
Plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits contend that J&J’s talc products, including the once-popular baby powder, were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen linked to mesothelioma and other cancers.
J&J denies these claims, insisting that its products are safe and asbestos-free. The company discontinued its talc-based powder products in the U.S. market in 2020.
