Johnson & Johnson must pay over $40 million to a woman diagnosed with mesothelioma allegedly caused by J&J talcum powder.

After years of using baby powder, Nancy Cabibi was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2017. Pleural mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer known to be caused by asbestos exposure.  Nancy and her husband, Phil, claim asbestos fibers in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder caused Nancy's cancer diagnoses.

According to claims raised in the trial, Johnson & Johnson knew about the dangers of asbestos in talcum powder for decades. However, the infamous company did nothing to warn consumers of the asbestos risks.

The California jury determined their final verdict after a four-week trial and six days of deliberations. They ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $20.3 million to Nancy and $20 million to Phil in damages.

Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson currently faces about 12,000 baby powder and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits nationwide. Each of these cases raise similar claims that J&J knew for decades about the asbestos risks in their products and failed to warn consumers.

 Along with talcum powder mesothelioma lawsuits, the litigation includes claims of baby powder causing ovarian cancer in women who used it around their genitals. Now, Johnson & Johnson faces criminal investigation about how much they knew about the asbestos risk in their talcum powder products.

The over 12,000 talcum powder lawsuits are centralized in the District of New Jersey before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson.  These cases are part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) with hopes of a future settlement to these lawsuits.