California jury finds company knew its talc-based products were dangerous but failed to warn consumers

A California jury on Friday awarded $40m to two women who said Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder was to blame for their ovarian cancer.

The jury in Los Angeles superior court awarded $18m to Monica Kent and $22m to Deborah Schultz and her husband after finding that Johnson & Johnson knew for years its talc-based products were dangerous but failed to warn consumers.

Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice-president of litigation, said in a statement the company plans to “immediately appeal this verdict and expect to prevail as we typically do with aberrant adverse verdicts”.

A spokesperson for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.