Johnson & Johnson Hit With $966 Million Verdict in Cancer Lawsuit

Johnson & Johnson just got a brutal wake-up call from a Los Angeles jury, which ordered the pharmaceutical behemoth to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma a rare and deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The stunning verdict includes $16 million in compensatory damages and a staggering $950 million in punitive damages.

At the center of the case was Mae Moore, an 88-year-old California woman who died in 2021. Her family argued that J&J’s talc-based baby powder a product millions of Americans once trusted was contaminated with asbestos fibers that ultimately caused her death. And the jury agreed.

This isn’t just a financial blow for Johnson & Johnson it’s a credibility crisis for a company long seen as a staple of American households.

“We are hopeful that Johnson & Johnson will finally accept responsibility for these senseless deaths,” said attorney Trey Branham, who represented Moore’s family.

Rather than accept the verdict, J&J doubled down, calling the trial “egregious and unconstitutional.” Erik Haas, the company’s litigation chief, insisted the case was driven by “junk science” and said J&J would appeal immediately.

But here’s the real problem for J&J this is just the tip of the iceberg:

• Over 67,000 cancer-related lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson tied to its talc products.

• The majority of cases involve ovarian cancer, but a growing number including Mae Moore’s deal with mesothelioma, which has a well-established link to asbestos exposure.

• J&J stopped selling talc baby powder in the U.S. in 2020 and globally in 2023, switching to cornstarch a move critics say is an implicit admission of guilt.

Despite the mounting legal losses, Johnson & Johnson has tried and failed to shield itself by pushing a controversial bankruptcy maneuver, attempting to offload its liabilities into a subsidiary to dodge accountability. Federal courts have now rejected that strategy three separate times.

Let’s be blunt: This isn’t just about one tragic death. This is about corporate elites putting profits over people and then using every legal loophole they can find to escape responsibility.

The American people are watching. And they should be asking: How many families have to suffer before these pharmaceutical giants are held accountable?

If a conservative company were involved in anything remotely similar, the media would be howling and Congress would be demanding blood. But when it’s a multi-billion-dollar left-aligned corporation like Johnson & Johnson, Democrats look the other way.

Until companies like J&J are forced to pay the full price for endangering lives, this cycle of denial, delay, and death will continue.

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