Couple awarded $40.3 million in talcum powder trial
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A woman who alleged that she acquired mesothelioma from her use of Johnson & Johnson talcum powder was awarded $40.3 million by a Los Angeles jury, her attorneys said today.
The Los Angeles Superior Court panel deliberated for six days before reaching its verdict Friday in the lawsuit brought by Nancy Cabibi and her husband Phil, both 71 years old. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017 and has undergone surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy, according to her court papers.
Testing of her body tissue showed the presence of tremolite and anthophyllite asbestos, known contaminants of Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, both of which were manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and both of which Nancy Cabibi used, according to her court papers.
The jury found Johnson's Baby Powder defective because it contained asbestos, according to her attorneys. The panel also found the powder caused her mesothelioma, which is an invariably fatal form of cancer, her attorneys said.
Johnson & Johnson attorneys argued Cabibi was exposed to asbestos through living in an industrial area of Los Angeles. Her lawyers countered that she never worked in or even entered any facilities where she would have been exposed to asbestos. The couple now lives in Idaho.
"Nancy Cabibi is fighting to survive every single day because of asbestos in Johnson's Baby Powder," said plaintiffs' attorney David Greenstone. "While we are very pleased with this verdict, we know that we must continue to fight on behalf of the Cabibis and so many others who have been harmed."