A jury in California awarded $417 million dollars in damages on Monday to a 63-year-old woman diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, after she claimed that a baby powder she used was to blame.
Eva Echeverria sued the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the company was aware of the risks its talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder posed, yet continued to encourage women to use it as a personal hygiene product.
Echeverria’s lawsuit is the largest in a series targeting Johnson & Johnson for allegedly failing to inform consumers of the elevated cancer risks of its talc-based products.
Mark Robinson, Echeverria’s attorney, praised the decision.
"We are grateful for the jury's verdict on this matter and that Eva Echeverria was able to have her day in court," the Independent reported.
The jury awarded Echeverria $70 million in compensation, plus $347 million in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson is currently facing some 4,800 other suits nationwide for its talc-based products. Prior to the jury decision in Echeverria’s case, Johnson & Johnson had been slapped with $307 million in damages from verdicts in four separate cases.
Despite Monday’s decision, Johnson & Johnson remained confident it would win on appeal.
"We will appeal today's verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder."
The company noted that claims of the link between cancer and talc products have not been verified.
Even if the decision is sustained in appeal, the amount awarded to the plaintiff could be reduced by a judge’s remittitur ruling.