A Ramsey County jury on Friday awarded $65.5 million to a Minnesota woman who says her mesothelioma was caused by Johnson & Johnson talc products.
Anna Jean Houghton Carley, 37, argued in court the company’s products exposed her to asbestos and caused mesothelioma, a rare, terminal cancer primarily caused by exposure to asbestos.
Carley, who has three children, was diagnosed earlier this year. She filed her lawsuit in March.
Carley argued that Johnson & Johnson sold and marketed talc-based products despite knowing talc can be contaminated with asbestos.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s baby powder was used on her throughout her childhood, and those who used it were not warned of its dangers.
The company pulled the products in question off store shelves in the U.S. in 2020, according to Carley’s attorneys.
Attorneys said the verdict is likely the largest asbestos-related award in Minnesota history and follows a 13-day trial.
“This verdict does not make up for the pain and suffering that Anna, her husband Mike, and her children will go through,” attorney Ben Braly said in a statement.
