The case involved Mae Moore, a California woman who died at age 88 in 2021. Her family sued Johnson & Johnson the same year, claiming that the company’s talc baby powder contained dangerous asbestos fibers. They argued that these fibers caused her to develop mesothelioma, which is a rare type of cancer. On Monday, the jury made their decision and ordered the company to pay $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, according to court documents.

However, the total amount could be reduced if Johnson & Johnson appeals the decision. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that punitive damages should generally not be more than nine times the compensatory damages.

Erik Haas, who is Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice president of litigation, released a statement after the verdict. He said the company plans to appeal immediately, calling the verdict “egregious and unconstitutional.” Haas also criticized the lawyers representing Moore’s family, saying they based their arguments on “junk science” that should never have been presented to the jury.

Johnson & Johnson has consistently maintained that its products are safe and do not contain asbestos or cause cancer. Despite this position, the company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the United States in 2020 and switched to a cornstarch product instead. Medical research has linked mesothelioma to asbestos exposure.

After the verdict was announced, Trey Branham, one of the attorneys representing Moore’s family, expressed hope that “Johnson & Johnson will finally accept responsibility for these senseless deaths.”

This case is just one of many that Johnson & Johnson is currently facing. According to court filings, more than 67,000 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against the company, claiming they were diagnosed with cancer after using baby powder and other talc products. However, mesothelioma cases represent only a small number of these lawsuits. The vast majority of cases involve claims about ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson has tried to resolve all this litigation through bankruptcy, but federal courts have rejected this proposal three times. The mesothelioma lawsuits were not included in the last bankruptcy proposal. Although the company has previously settled some mesothelioma claims, it has not reached a nationwide settlement. As a result, many mesothelioma lawsuits have gone to trial in state courts in recent months.

Over the past year, Johnson & Johnson has received several substantial verdicts against them in mesothelioma cases, and Monday’s verdict is among the largest. However, the company has also won some trials. For example, just last week in South Carolina, a jury found Johnson & Johnson not liable in a mesothelioma case.

The company has had some success in reducing jury awards when they appeal. In one Oregon case, a state judge granted Johnson & Johnson’s request to throw out a $260 million verdict and hold a new trial.