A court has ordered pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to pay a huge sum. The company must pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from cancer. This decision came after her family argued that the company’s talcum powder caused her illness. Johnson & Johnson plans to fight the ruling.
On October 7, 2025, a jury in Los Angeles, California, reached this major verdict. They found Johnson & Johnson responsible for the death of Mae Moore. Ms. Moore, an American woman, passed away in 2021 from mesothelioma. This is a rare and aggressive cancer that affects the lining of vital organs.
The jury’s decision included two parts. They awarded $16 million to cover specific losses. Another $950 million was for punitive damages, meant to punish the company. Ms. Moore’s family filed their lawsuit in 2021. They claimed Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder contained asbestos fibers. These fibers are a known cause of mesothelioma.
Johnson & Johnson quickly announced its intention to appeal the verdict. Eric Haas, who leads the company’s global legal cases, called the decision unfair. He stated it went against constitutional principles. Mr. Haas also accused the plaintiff’s lawyers of using unproven “pseudo-scientific” evidence in court.
This is not the first time Johnson & Johnson has faced significant penalties over its talc products. In 2016, a court in Missouri ordered the company to pay $72 million. That case involved the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. More recently, in 2024, the company agreed to pay $700 million. This settled claims from 43 states that accused them of misleading consumers about product safety.
Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the United States in 2020. They ended sales worldwide in 2023. The company now uses cornstarch in its baby powder. Still, it faces more than 67,000 lawsuits from people who claim their talc products caused cancer. Most of these cases involve ovarian cancer. However, claims linked to mesothelioma have been steadily growing over the last year.