A Missouri jury on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged the company's talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
The verdict is the largest the firm has faced to date over allegations that its talc-based products cause cancer. Johnson & Johnson is battling some 9,000 talc cases.
Thursday's massive verdict, handed down in a court in St. Louis, was comprised of $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages, according to an online broadcast of the trial by Courtroom View Network.
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