Jury Orders Johnson & Johnson To Pay $4.7 Billion In Missouri Asbestos Cancer Case

A Missouri jury on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) 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 J&J has faced to date over allegations that its talc-based products cause cancer. The company is battling some 9,000 talc cases. J&J denies both that its talc products cause cancer and that they ever contained asbestos. It says decades of studies show its talc to be safe and has successfully overturned previous talc verdicts on technical legal grounds.