Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million over talcum powder tied to woman's cancer

Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million to the family of a woman who blamed her fatal ovarian cancer on the company's talcum powder in the first state-court case over the claims to go to trial.

Jurors in St. Louis on Monday concluded J&J should pay $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in a punishment award to the family of Jackie Fox, who died of ovarian cancer last year after using Johnson's baby powder and another talc-based product for years. It's the first time a jury has ordered J&J, the world's largest maker of health-care products, to pay damages over claims that it knew decades ago that its talcbased products could cause cancer and failed to warn consumers.

"We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial," Carol Goodrich, a J&J spokeswoman, said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. "We sympathise with the plaintiff 's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence." J&J is facing about 1,200 suits claiming studies have linked its Johnson's Baby Powder and its Shower-to-Shower product to ovarian cancer. Women contend the company knew of the risk and failed to warn customers.

Decisive' Documents

The jury foreman, Krista Smith, called the company's internal documents "decisive" for jurors, who reached the verdict after four hours of deliberations. "It was really clear they were hiding something," said Smith, 39, of St Louis. "All they had to do was put a warning label on." Allen Smith, a lawyer for the family, said, "It was a just verdict given the horrible conduct of Johnson & Johnson." J&J marketed its Shower to Shower brand talc for feminine hygiene. One 1988 ad promised "just a sprinkle a day keeps odor away." Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which acquired the Shower to Shower brand in 2012, wasn't a defendant in the St Louis case.