US jury asks Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to cancer victim's family. What happened?

A jury in California ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay a whopping $966 million to the familyof a woman who attributed her cancer to the use of the company's baby powder. On October 6, the LA Superior Court's jury held the company liable for Mae Moore’s cancer, awarding $16 million in damages and $950 million in punitive damages to the family.

What do we know about the Johnson & Johnson verdict?

The jury found that Johnson & Johnson had concealed asbestos-related risks in its talc powders, Reuters reported. The woman died in 2021, aged 88. Her family had alleged that the company hid the health hazards of its baby products and Shower-to-Shower line.

The company has said that it would appeal against what it called an "egregious and unconstitutional verdict", reported Bloomberg. It added that the verdict contradicts other cases where the firm wasn't held liable.

Jessica Dean, the lawyer who represented the Moore family, said that it took the family five years to reach the trial stage.

J&J is battling 70,000 claims alleging that its talc products caused mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Several lawsuits have found the firm guilty. Many verdicts were later reduced or overturned.

Those who accuse the company of knowing about asbestos contamination in its talc cite internal documents dating back to the 1970s.

In 2018, a court awarded $4.7 billion to 20 women. The amount was later reduced to $2.1 billion on appeal.

Moore's family told the court that she used the company's baby powder and Shower-to-Shower powder for 80 years without knowing about the cancer risks linked to its talc products.