In just the last few years, tens of thousands of people have filed cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson. Many of the cases ended in verdicts ordering Johnson & Johnson to pay victims anywhere from $1 million to $100 million.
The verdict out of Baltimore, Maryland, this week tops them all, though.
A Baltimore jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $1.59 billion to a woman with mesothelioma. She has a type of mesothelioma called peritoneal mesothelioma, which forms in the lining of the abdominal cavity. The woman is a mother to five children and the owner of a non-profit organization.
The case centers around the belief that Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, which was for decades made with the mineral talc, often contained asbestos. The only cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.
This verdict is the largest delivered to a single victim in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. The only others close in monetary amount are a verdict of $4.7 billion awarded to 22 women with ovarian cancer, and a $966 million verdict awarded to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma.
All three verdicts focus on Johnson & Johnson’s now-defunct Baby Powder product as the cause of asbestos exposure.
Johnson & Johnson’s History With Asbestos Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was made with talc, which is a mineral found in the earth’s soil. Asbestos is found in the same geographic areas, which can lead to contamination during mining and manufacturing. Talc is turned into a powder, which can hide sharp asbestos fibers.
People who used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder from the mid-20th century all the way to 2020 – when the company stopped manufacturing and selling the product – may have been exposed to asbestos. Tests from independent organizations even found traces of asbestos in samples of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder as late as 2019. Scientists link using talc to developing mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
Other large mesothelioma verdicts against Johnson & Johnson include:
- A Brooklyn woman awarded $325 million by a Manhattan jury in 2019
- Four people with mesothelioma receiving $750 million from a New Jersey jury in 2020 (later lowered to $185 million)
- $260 million to a woman from Oregon in 2024
Johnson & Johnson has tried three times to stop lawsuits involving asbestos exposure. The company created a subsidiary and filed for bankruptcy to settle claims and create a trust fund to pay future victims a set amount. Bankruptcy judges rejected all three attempts, leaving Johnson & Johnson liable to lawsuits.
As of the last count, there were a reported 60,000 pending lawsuits. Most were women with ovarian cancer. A few were people with mesothelioma.
Johnson & Johnson’s Responsibility to Warn Consumers
Johnson & Johnson pledges to appeal the $1.5 billion verdict levied against the company in the Baltimore lawsuit. However, the verdict still shows how juries often side with victims against the pharmaceutical giant.
The issue, juries often find, is that Johnson & Johnson did not let consumers know asbestos could be in the product. Reports have found Johnson & Johnson leaders knew asbestos contamination was possible and, for this reason, talc was not the safest ingredient to use. Despite this knowledge, reports say, Johnson & Johnson continued using talc and provided no warning to consumers.
That was the basis for this verdict as well, along with the fact that mesothelioma is a deadly type of cancer. The average length of survival after diagnosis is 1-2 years. Treatment options are limited to surgery and chemotherapy, and many patients are too weak to endure surgery. The prognosis is unfortunately poor, and medical costs can leave a burden for the patient and their loved ones.
Facts of the $1.5 Billion Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson
The woman who filed the lawsuit, Cherie Craft, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in January 2024. She founded the non-profit Smart from the Start in 2007. This organization promotes education, healthy early childhood development, and well-baby support for underprivileged families. The organization supports families in Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Her lawyers said she continues devoting time to her non-profit despite her declining health.
Cherie is a mother of five children and moved to the Washington, DC, area in 2015. She was diagnosed in 2024 after years of using Johnson & Johnson products, including Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder.
While she underwent aggressive surgery in 2024 at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, her doctors, mesothelioma specialists Dr. Fabian Johnston and Dr. Julie Brahmer, testified during the trial that her cancer will most likely kill her.
Cherie received $59.84 million in compensatory damages, which are paid to victims for their pain and suffering and potential medical costs.
That amount is similar to many past mesothelioma verdicts against Johnson & Johnson. This verdict becomes extraordinary due to the punitive damages:
- $1 billion against Johnson & Johnson
- $500 million against a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary called Pecos River Talc
“Cherie runs a non-profit where she pours her life into helping others,” the victim’s lawyer stated, as quoted in an article published on Reuters. “Her cancer was preventable. She used Johnson’s Baby Powder every day of her life until she was diagnosed with cancer. J&J refused to accept any responsibility and fought at every turn.”
Help Filing a Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson
Mesothelioma is a preventable cancer. Exposure to asbestos is the only known cause, which means companies that manufactured asbestos are directly responsible for exposing innocent people to a deadly substance.
Johnson & Johnson is one such company, failing to warn consumers that baby powder featuring talc could also contain asbestos. Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was a staple of households for decades and all the way until 2020. Millions of people used the product on themselves or their children to keep skin clean and dry, which is the main benefit of talc.
If you have mesothelioma and used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, you deserve the opportunity to file a lawsuit and negotiate a settlement with the company. Even if a settlement is not reached, you may win a verdict from a favoring jury.
Mesothelioma compensation can cover the high costs of treatment and the challenges that come with lost wages from not being able to work due to declining health. Victims such as yourself or your loved one with cancer deserve this financial help, paid directly from the company responsible for bringing asbestos into your home.
Contact our patient advocates to learn about your compensation options. Email Carl Jewett at cjewett@mesotheliomaguide.com to learn if your cancer diagnosis and use of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder could lead to a settlement or verdict.
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