A U.S. court has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $966 million in damages to the family of an 88-year-old California woman who died from cancer allegedly caused by the company’s talc-based baby powder.
The ruling, delivered on October 7, held J&J accountable for the 2021 death of May Moore, who suffered from mesothelioma—a rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
According to Reuters, Moore’s family sued the company the same year, claiming that asbestos fibers in J&J’s baby powder led to her illness. The court awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages.
