A woman from Idaho was awarded $40.3 million in a jury trial against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over claims that their Baby Powder product caused her cancer.
Nany Cabibi, 71, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017. She has since undergone surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation.
J&J is facing more than 14,000 lawsuits over alleged claims that their Baby Powder product causes mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. With this latest jury award, J&J will have paid more than $50 million in damages.
Cabibi’s lawsuit alleged that J&J’s Baby Powder product contained asbestos, which caused her cancer. Asbestos has been linked to mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer.
J&J’s team argued that Cabibi, who lives in Idaho with her husband, had been exposed to asbestos while living in an industrial area of Los Angeles.
Cabibi’s team argued that she had never worked in a factory, and the jury determined that atmospheric exposure was not enough to trigger cancer.
When Cabibi was diagnosed with mesothelioma, her body tissue was tested for asbestos. Tests revealed both anthophyllite and tremolite asbestos, which are two forms of the mineral that have been confirmed to be in J&J’s Baby Powder as well as their Shower to Shower product.
Cabibi used both products.
Cabibi was awarded $1.2 million in economic damages, which includes past and future medical expenses, $6.5 million for past noneconomic damages, $20 million to her husband Phil, and $12.6 million for future noneconomic damages.
The jury’s verdict is the latest blow to J&J, which is facing thousands of lawsuits over its talc products.
Another case in September was ruled in favor of the plaintiffs after a two-month trial. A jury in the New Jersey Superior Court for Middlesex County ordered J&J to pay $37.3 million. That trial was a rare combined case that had four plaintiffs who received portions of the total award.
The plaintiffs in this case also contended that there was asbestos in J&J’s Baby Powder product, which caused their cancers.
