A COURT in Chicago, USA has ordered Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue Inc to pay a family US$45 million (RM215.3 million) for causing the death of a woman, Bloomberg reports.
J&J and Kenvue Inc was found guilty by a panel of jurors who concluded Kenvue was 70% responsible for the death of Theresa Garcia, a mother of six and a grandmother, who died in 2020 after developing mesothelioma, a type of cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
The family from Illinois blamed the companies’ baby powders for giving her a fatal cancer in what was the first verdict against the J&J spinoff in a decade-long litigation over the product.
According to court filings, her family alleged J&J and Kenvue’s predecessor firm sold their talcum-based baby powder knowing it was tainted with asbestos.
Stephanie Salcedo, Garcia’s daughter, had filed the case on behalf of her family.
The family’s lawyer Jessica Dean said they are grateful that jurors saw through the “deceptions” put forth by J&J and Kenvue about whether talc can cause cancer. – April 21, 2024.
