J&J vows appeal after US jury hits it with record $1.5 billion talc cancer award

Source: Reuters

December 23, 2025 5:14 AM EST Updated 11 hours ago


Dec 22 (Reuters) - A Baltimore jury ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and its subsidiaries to pay over $1.5 billion to a woman who claimed decades of exposure to asbestos in the company’s talc-based products caused her peritoneal mesothelioma, a form of cancer.

Jurors in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, on Monday found the company, two of its subsidiaries and spinoff Kenvue (KVUE.N) liable for failing to warn plaintiff Cherie Craft that its baby powder contained asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson said it will appeal the jury’s decision, which the plaintiff's law firm said was the largest-ever sum awarded against J&J for a single plaintiff.

The award to Craft, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2024, includes $59.84 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $1 billion against J&J and $500 million against Pecos River Talc - a J&J subsidiary, according to court documents. The case follows a California jury decision earlier in December that awarded $40 million to two women who said the company's baby powder was to blame for their ovarian cancer.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/jj-vows-appeal-after-us-jury-hits-it-with-record-15-billion-talc-cancer-award-2025-12-23/