Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto issued the following announcement on Jan. 4.
Johnson & Johnson lost a motion seeking to overturn a jury verdict in excess of $4 billion. The jury found that Johnson & Johnson was to blame for ovarian cancer of 22 women who sued the company. The cases centered around talc powder manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. The lawsuits allege that the company's baby powder and other talc powder products were contaminated with asbestos particles that can cause cancer.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Johnson & Johnson has known for several decades about the risk of asbestos contamination in its talc powder, but desperately fought to keep negative information hidden from the public. The 22 plaintiffs were awarded $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages. Nationwide, there are almost 12,000 plaintiffs who have sued Johnson & Johnson alleging its talc powder can cause ovarian cancer.
While Johnson & Johnson has won some cases across the country, the company has appealed nearly all verdicts that have gone in the plaintiffs' favor. Johnson & Johnson said the $4.69 billion verdict could still eventually be reversed by an appeals court.