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May Moore, a resident of California, died of a rare interstitial tumor in 2021, aged 88. The disease is usually associated with long-term exposure to asbestos. Her family sued Johnson in the same year, accusing its baby body-cooling products of containing asbestos fibers, causing Moore to develop cancer.

According to court documents, the jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages.

The highest amount of damages in 15 years. Johnson & Johnson will appeal

It is understood that this is the judgment with the highest amount of compensation received by a single plaintiff in the 15 years since Johnson & Johnson's talc powder lawsuit lasted. However, the compensation amount may be cut after Johnson & Johnson appeals. According to the relevant ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States, punitive damages usually shall not exceed nine times the compensatory damages.

Johnson & Johnson talcum powder (data map)

Eric Hass, Johnson¡¯s vice president of global litigation affairs, said in a statement that the company plans to appeal immediately, calling the ruling ¡°extreme and unconstitutional.¡±

Johnson reiterated that its products are "safe, asbestos-free, and will not cause cancer."The company noted that as early as 2020 it would have stopped selling baby milk-containing powder in the U.S. and switched to corn starch formulas.

The plaintiff's lawyers cited Johnson & Johnson's internal documents to refute that the company had known that its talc might contain asbestos as early as the 1970s, but did not disclose the risks to the public. Attorney Trey Branhan, who represented Moore's family, said after the verdict that his team "hopes Johnson and Johnson will ultimately accept responsibility for these tragedies that could have been avoided."

Johnson is deeply stuck in a sliding powder litigation whirlwind, there are still more than 6,7 thousand lawsuits

According to court documents, Johnson is currently facing more than 670,000 lawsuits, with plaintiffs all claiming to have developed cancer after using baby body relief powder and other mild powder products. Among those, only a small fraction of cases of alleged mild powder causes interstitial tumors, most of which are associated with ovarian cancer.

According to the report, Johnson has paid more than $3 billion to settle related lawsuits, but a large number of cases are still underway.Most cases are currently under joint trial at federal courts in New Jersey and are in the pre-trial exchange phase.

It is understood that Johnson & Johnson tried three times to promote the overall settlement plan through bankruptcy reorganization procedures, but all of them were rejected by the federal court. Notably, the lawsuit involving mesothelioma was not included in its latest bankruptcy proposal. The company has previously reached individual settlements with some plaintiffs, but has not yet achieved a nationwide settlement. Therefore, in recent months, a number of mesothelioma cases in state courts have been heard one after another.

However, Johnson & Johnson also received court support in some cases. Last week, a South Carolina jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson was not liable. In addition, the company has successfully reduced compensation in some appeals, including in the Oregon case where a state judge granted Johnson & Johnson's request to revoke a $260 million sentence and reopen the case.

Red Star reporter Wang Yalin internship reporter Yang Poohyuk

Editor Zhang Xun

Audit He Xianju

Extended reading

Chinese student sued Michigan State University for $100 million for cancer

Wei Linglong, a Chinese student who studied at Michigan State University in the United States, recently sued the school, claiming that students suffered from thyroid cancer because the school failed to regulate their exposure to toxic chemicals, and claimed $100 million.

Wei Linglong's interview screen

Sue alma mater for $100 million:

Untrained unprotected exposure to hazardous pesticides more than 7,000 hours, leading to cancer

The complaint shows that Wei Linglong was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the middle of last year and her health deteriorated,"directly related to events that occurred while she was studying for a master's degree in horticulture at Michigan State University from 2008 to 2011."

According to the content of the complaint, Wei Linglong sprayed dangerous doses of harmful pesticides and herbicides during the field research, among which the herbicides exposed to included dichloroparaquat, glyphosate and ethoxyfluorfen, but they were not protected accordingly. Wei Linglong said that these chemicals are related to their cancer.

Wei Liang said the school did not provide adequate training for students and did not provide protection equipment for the use of these dangerous chemicals.

Recently, Wei Liang and lawyer Maya Green said in a media interview that during their studies at Michigan State University, Wei Liang worked as a student research assistant and conducted field research on horticulture courses.

In the field research work, the instructor asked her to go to the school fields to spray herbicides and pesticides, which could take up to eight hours a day.

Michigan State University Campus

Wei Liang said that he had not been properly trained in handling chemicals and did not wear ¡°the right mask, gloves or work clothes¡± when handling chemicals. ¡°When spraying these toxic chemicals, the wind often blows chemicals on Ms. Wei¡¯s face. Ms. Wei has been exposed to dangerous pesticides for more than 7,000 hours without any protection and training.¡±

Wei Linglong said that she had been experiencing breathing difficulties since 2010, but the school health center told her it was caused by anxiety. The complaint alleges that the mentor assured Wei Linglong that the chemicals were "safe." "Ms. Wei believed her mentor's assurance and continued to spray dangerous pesticides and herbicides without personal protective equipment." "Ms. Wei continued to experience symptoms, but due to the intimidation and hostile attitude of her mentor, she dared not speak up for herself."

In the complaint, Wei Linglong proposed $100 million in compensation to her alma mater. Wei Linglong said, "I expressed my concern at that time, but no one cared. In the face of threat, I was afraid, so I didn't strongly advocate self-protection, especially when others told me that everything was fine and contact was harmless."

The school responded:

Pay attention to safety and provide necessary and compliant training and protection

When he was diagnosed with cancer, he underwent a series of treatments, and at present his condition was relieved. Wei Liang said that the cancer caused his own hormone imbalance, easy fatigue, and may be difficult for fertility, and at any time there is a risk of recurrence, and the body also left permanent scars, and my recovery path is very difficult.¡± Wei Liang said, ¡°I have to take medication for the rest of my life, and have to live with permanent scars, and have to fight with the depression caused by hormone imbalance.¡±

The lawsuit revealed that Wei has claimed $100 million, including medical expenses that have been incurred and will continue to be incurred, psychotherapy expenses, losses caused by losses in wages and reduced income capacity, physical and psychological injuries, and punitive compensation to Michigan State University for deliberately neglecting security.

Wei Linglong speculated that because of her status as an international student, the school thought she would leave the United States soon, so it selectively ignored her concerns at that time. "International students are often ignored, because some people think that they will return to China after graduation, and their worries are ignored."

Amber McCann, a spokesman for Michigan State University, said: ¡°While we cannot comment on the unresolved case, we must emphasize that Michigan State University always puts the health and safety of the entire campus community first and foremost.

Currently, cancer researchers are still studying the exact link between pesticides and cancer. According to data from the National Pesticide Information Center jointly established by the Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, some pesticides are carcinogens.

The Dana Farber Cancer Institute says it is difficult for doctors to determine the specific cause of a patient's cancer. Its website reads: "It is almost impossible to attribute individual cancer cases to specific culprits with 100% certainty."