Jury recommends $25M in Johnson & Johnson lawsuit

LOS ANGELES » A California jury delivered a $25.7 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed she developed cancer by using the company’s talc-based baby powder.

Jurors in Los Angeles recommended $4million in punitive damages Thursday after finding the company acted with malice, oppression or fraud.

A day earlier, the panel called for $21.7 million in compensatory damages for plaintiff Joanne Anderson, who suffers frommesothelioma, a lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

Johnson & Johnson was assigned 67 percent of the compensation payout, with the rest distributed among other defendants.

Johnson & Johnson said it’s disappointed in the decision and will appeal.

“We will continue to defend the safety of our product because it does not contain asbestos or cause mesothelioma,” Johnson & Johnson said in statement.

Anderson, 66, claimed Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers that its powder contains asbestosandcouldcausecancer.

Johnson & Johnson “engaged in amulti-decade campaign wherein they hid testing data” fromregulators, altered reports to make them more favorable and lied to consumers, said Chris Panatier, one of Anderson’s trial attorneys.