A closely watched trial over claims that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder caused two women’s ovarian cancer ended Friday with a $40 million verdict.
The Los Angeles County jury returned its verdict the day after hearing arguments in a lengthy trial that began that began with opening statements in mid-November. They awarded plantiffs Monica Kent and Deborah Schultz $18 and $22 million in compensatory damages, respectively, but declined to award any puntive damages.
A J&J Spokesperson told CVN after the trial the company would immediately appeal and additional trials involving ovarian cancer claims related to products like Johnson’s Baby Powder are set for 2026, including a second bellwether trial in January before Judge Theresa Traber in the same downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
The majority of talc trials to date involved plantiffs claiming they developed mesothelioma after inhaling asbestos particles while using Baby Powder. A much smaller number of trials involved woman claiming they developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson’s Baby Powder on their bodies.
During his closing argument on behalf of the two women, plaintiff attorney Andy Birchfield of Beasley Allen Law Firm accused J&J of knowing as far back as the 1960’s that talc-based products posed a health risk but withholding that information from the public to protect sales of a popular brand.
“Absolutely they knew, they knew and they were doing everything they could to hide it, to bury the truth about the dangers,” Birchfield told the jury.
In the meantime, mesothelioma talc cases resulted in a spilt of plantiff and defense verdicts, with many also recorded by CVN. Absent a large-scale national settlement of mesothelioma cases, they’re expected to continue grinding through state court systems, which will now also see a likely uptick in ovarian cases.
In addtion to the next ovarian bellwether trial in Los Angeles in Januaray and other state court trials in 2026, next year will also see the first federal J&J talc trial in multi-district litigation consolidated in New Jersey.
The Los Angeles litigation is captioned Johnson & Johnson Talc Powder Cases, case number JCCP4872 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
