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A Chicago jury ordered Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and its consumer support spin-off Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) to pay $45 million to the family of an Illinois resident who died after developing cancer allegedly caused by the companies’ talc products baby powder.
The jury concluded that Kenvue (KVUE) was 70 percent responsible for the death of Theresa Garcia, whose family accused JNJ and KVUE’s predecessor company of selling talc-based baby powder, knowing the product was contaminated with asbestos.
The jury found that J&J (JNJ) and one of its units should be held liable for the remaining 30% of the verdict, Bloomberg reported it, citing court documents. Garcia died in 2020 after developing mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure.
The jury’s decision issued late Friday marked the latest legal outcome for J&J (JNJ), as tens of thousands of similar cases wind through the U.S. legal system after the company’s previous attempts to resolve the litigation through two bankruptcies failed.
It also brought Kenvue (KVUE) on board for the first time since the unit split from the healthcare giant last year.
In another talc-related claim involving JNJ, a jury in Florida sided with the company on Thursday, concluding that the company was not responsible for the death of a Sarasota County resident, who died of ovarian cancer in 2019.