Judges altering verdicts to give victims of personal injury claims additional compensation is not that uncommon. Even in mesothelioma lawsuits, verdicts can and sometimes do change after the initial ruling from a jury. Usually, the additional verdict comes from punitive damages, which are to punish the culpable company.
However, what is uncommon is two verdicts against the same defendant company being changed in the same week.
That’s what happened with two verdicts levied against Johnson & Johnson in past mesothelioma lawsuits. Separate judges increased verdicts to compensate victims with multiple millions of dollars more, ordering Johnson & Johnson to pay more for the company’s reported recklessness in manufacturing and selling Baby Powder with asbestos hidden inside.
These two updated verdicts are proof that the court system backs the victims of asbestos exposure, including from using products made with talc. Asbestos is the only cause of mesothelioma, which is a rare cancer that spreads quickly to organs.
New Orleans Mesothelioma Verdict Increases to $8 Million
A verdict for a mesothelioma case in New Orleans, LA, which originally was for $3 million, was altered to a little more than $8 million. A judge in the city ordered an additional $4.5 million in survival damages and $2 million in wrongful death damages.
The woman who filed the original lawsuit, Jeanine H., passed away in January 2024 at age 72. She alleged in her lawsuit a lifetime of using Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. Janine H.’s family continued the lawsuit after her death. The original mesothelioma verdict was announced in May 2025.
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Mesothelioma
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was made for decades with talc, which is a natural mineral. Asbestos is a natural mineral as well, and it can cause cancer. Asbestos and talc can mix together in soil, leading to asbestos contaminating talc mixtures.
Asbestos is the only known cause of the rare cancer mesothelioma, which Jenaine H. was diagnosed with.
Talc is ground into a powder for Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. There have been tens of thousands of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson from people who have developed cancers like mesothelioma and blame talc asbestos exposure.
They claim their use of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder – or their parents’ use of the product – on the cancer and claim asbestos hiding in the powder escaped into the air and was inhaled by the victim.
$10 Million Additional in Connecticut Verdict
A mesothelioma case in Connecticut originally landed on a $15 million verdict. A judge in the state added $10 million to bring the compensation amount against Johnson & Johnson to $25 million.
The victim, Evan P., used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder for decades on himself. Then he used the product on his children. The victim was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2021. They filed the claim in Bridgeport.
The jury delivered a $15 million verdict in October 2024. The $15 million was compensatory damages, leaving open the possibility of an increase for punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson Still Active Company for Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson faces approximately 60,000 lawsuits from cancer victims who blame their disease on the company’s old Baby Powder. The company remains an active defendant even after three attempts to push all pending asbestos lawsuits to settlements – and all future claims to an asbestos trust fund.
Johnson & Johnson discontinued the talc Baby Powder in 2020. The company stopped manufacturing, marketing, and selling the product in North American consumer markets. A few years later, the company stopped production and sale worldwide.
This decision came after years of facing cancer lawsuits. The company has always claimed the product was safe but decided to discontinue manufacturing due to the legal claims.
Johnson & Johnson tried three times to create a bankrupt subsidiary to keep Baby Powder claims. This tactic is called the Texas Two-Step, which many asbestos manufacturing companies used from the 1980s on.
This method allows companies to avoid facing lawsuits and instead compensate victims from what’s called an asbestos trust fund. This is a bank account that pays asbestos exposure claims with a premeditated amount, usually lower than the amount from a verdict.
Bankruptcy court judges blocked all three attempts, stopping Johnson & Johnson from sidestepping asbestos exposure lawsuits from users of the talc baby powder and creating an asbestos trust fund.
Help for Victims of Mesothelioma and Talc
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was a popular brand and product for decades. Many Americans used the powder on their children to clean their skin and keep it dry. Some adults even used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder on themselves.
People who developed cancer after using Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder on their kids or themselves – or anyone who knows their parents used the powder on them during childhood – can apply for mesothelioma compensation. They deserve this financial help as mesothelioma is an aggressive disease. It causes high medical costs and lost wages from missing work.
Johnson & Johnson should be held accountable if the company was malicious in manufacturing and selling its baby powder with asbestos. Ask our patient advocate, Carl Jewett, for his recommendations on finding a lawyer. Email Carl at cjewett@mesotheliomaguide.com.
Sources & Author
- Asbestos verdict against Johnson & Johnson increased to $25 million by Connecticut judge. Fox61. Retrieved from: https://www.fox61.com/article/money/asbestos-verdict-against-johnson-johnson-increased-to-25-million-by-judge-in-connecticut/520-652ad863-85a0-4e95-bb92-963d131732b7. Accessed: 10/03/2025.
