London, UK — October 8, 2025

The pharmaceutical and consumer giant, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has been rocked by a staggering legal defeat after a jury ordered the company to pay $966 million in damages to the family of a woman who claimed her death was caused by the company’s talc-based baby powder. This verdict marks one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on J&J in the ongoing wave of product liability lawsuits and intensifies the company’s battle against senseless deaths allegedly linked to its iconic consumer product.

The verdict, handed down late on Monday by a jury in a Los Angeles, California court, found J&J liable for the death of Mae Moore, an 88-year-old California resident who died in 2021. Moore’s family sued the company, alleging that decades of using J&J’s talc powder exposed her to asbestos fibres, which ultimately caused her to develop mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer primarily linked to asbestos exposure.

Verdict Breakdown and Legal Ramifications

The $966 million judgment is comprised of two parts, illustrating the jury’s strong finding against the company:

 * Compensatory Damages: $16 million were awarded to cover the family’s economic and non-economic losses related to Moore’s illness and death.

 * Punitive Damages: A massive $950 million was levied against J&J. Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant for gross negligence or malicious conduct and deter similar behaviour in the future.

J&J’s Vice President of Litigation, Erik Haas, immediately vowed to challenge the verdict, calling it “egregious and unconstitutional.” The company maintains that its talc products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and do not cause cancer, arguing that the plaintiff lawyers based their arguments on “junk science.” Legal experts have noted that the punitive damages portion of the award could be reduced on appeal, as US Supreme Court precedent generally suggests that punitive damages should not exceed nine times the compensatory damages.

A Battle on Multiple Fronts

This latest ruling is a significant setback that highlights J&J’s persistent difficulty in resolving the crisis surrounding its talc products. The company faces lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs who allege they were diagnosed with cancer after using J&J’s baby powder and other talc products, with the majority of claims involving ovarian cancer.

The verdict has several critical implications for J&J’s ongoing legal strategy:

 * Failed Bankruptcy Strategy: The ruling comes after J&J made three unsuccessful attempts, most recently in early 2025, to resolve the mass litigation through a controversial “Texas two-step” bankruptcy procedure, which was intended to shield the parent company from liability. Federal courts have repeatedly rejected these attempts, forcing the company to return to the state tort system to contest the claims in individual trials.

 * Growing Financial Pressure: This near-$1 billion verdict is the largest-ever awarded in a mesothelioma case against the company and adds to immense financial and reputational pressure. In 2024, J&J was also ordered to pay $700 million to settle allegations brought by 43 state attorneys general that it misled consumers about the safety of its talc products.

 * Global Phase-Out: As litigation has mounted, J&J ceased selling talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada in 2020, switching to a cornstarch-based product. It finally ended all global sales of talc-based baby powder by 2023.

The plaintiffs’ legal team expressed hope after the verdict that Johnson & Johnson would “finally accept responsibility for these senseless deaths.” With tens of thousands of lawsuits still pending, the outcome of J&J’s appeal against the Los Angeles ruling will be closely watched as it will likely influence the valuation and eventual fate of the entire body of talc litigation.

Headline Points:

 * Massive Award: A Los Angeles jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million in damages over claims its talc-based baby powder caused cancer.

 * Victim and Illness: The award was granted to the family of Mae Moore (deceased 2021), who developed mesothelioma allegedly from asbestos contamination in the baby powder.

 * Damages Breakdown: The total includes $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages.

 * Company Response: J&J has vowed to appeal the verdict, calling the finding “egregious and unconstitutional,” and continues to deny that its products are unsafe.

 * Litigation Status: The ruling follows the rejection of J&J’s attempts to settle the more than 67,000 pending lawsuits through a controversial bankruptcy manoeuvre.