Health care company Johnson & Johnson could pay an additional $10 million as a result of a lawsuit filed by a Somers, Connecticut, man who claims his terminal illness resulted from the company’s famed baby powder product.
A judge at Bridgeport Superior Court increased the verdict amount for a total of $25 million on Oct. 1. The additional amount comes nearly a year after a jury initially awarded Evan Plotkin $15 million. But attorneys for Johnson & Johnson say they plan to appeal.
Plotkin sued in 2021, claiming he developed the rare cancer Mesothelioma, after using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, which his suit claimed, knowingly sold products containing asbestos. Mesothelioma affects the lungs, and other organs, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Plotkin’s attorneys at Dean Omar Branham Shirley LLP, including Trey Branham, praised the new verdict amount.
“He and we are grateful that the judge read the opinion and did what the judge thought was right,” Branham said.
Branham said the $25 million amount is close to what Plotkin originally asked for, which was $30 million. The jury’s initial $15 million award was for compensatory damages, Branham said. The additional $10 million is for punitive damages.
Plotkin alleged in his complaint, the company knew its baby powder contained tremolite, a type of asbestos. The complaint states that Johnson & Johnson was aware of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma.
Johnson & Johnson issued a statement soon after the firm announced the amount increases.
“We will immediately appeal the erroneous rulings by the trial judge that prevented us from sharing critical facts with the jury that demonstrate the plaintiff's exceedingly rare form of mesothelioma was not caused by talcum powder,” said Erik Haas, Worldwide Head of Litigation, Johnson & Johnson.
The company also referred to a separate trial in South Carolina, where a jury ruled in favor of the company for a trial similarly alleging it sold products causing cancer. Johnson & Johnson criticized the lawsuits as being based on “junk science.”
Branham disputed those claims, citing similar verdicts across the country ruling against the company.
"It's frustrating when a company like Johnson &Johnson, who you know rests its reputation on taking care of mothers and babies, continues to deny what is the abject truth,” Branham said.
Johnson & Johnson announced in 2022 it would fully switch to cornstarch-based baby powder products by 2023, saying it did so as part of a worldwide portfolio assessment, simplifying product offerings, and meeting consumer needs among others. The release stated its talc based powder was safe and did not cause cancer.
