J&J to Pay $37.2 Million to Group Blaming Powder for Cancers

Johnson & Johnson must pay $37.2 million to four consumers who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for their cancers in the company’s latest loss in nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder.

A jury in J&J’s hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey, concluded Sept. 11 that J&J’s handling of the asbestos-laced baby powder contributed to the development of cancer in the plaintiffs, said Chris Placitella, one of the group’s lawyers.

Douglas Barden, 65, David Etheridge, 57, D’Angela McNeill-George, 41, and Will Ronning, 46, argued they faced long-term exposure to carcinogens as children because their parents used baby powder on them. All have ...