A Missouri state jury has ruled Johnson & Johnson must pay $72 million to the family of a woman who used the company's products for decades and eventually died of ovarian cancer linked to the company's talc-based powders, Reuters reports.
Court records show the St. Louis circuit court jurors awarded the family of the woman, Jacqueline Fox, $10 million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive damages. Johnson & Johnson was found liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, according to the family's lawyers.
Ms. Fox claimed she used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 35 years. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and last October, she died at the age of 62.
One of the lawyers for Ms. Fox's family, Jere Beasley, told Reuters reporters and other journalists the company "knew as far back as the 1980s of the risk," of ovarian cancer, but still resorted to "lying to the public, lying to the regulatory agencies."
A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman responded to the jury's decision, saying "We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial. We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence."