MA Jury Awards Landmark $42M Verdict in J&J Talc Lawsuit
Legislation & Litigation
Written by Travis Rodgers | Edited by Amy Edel
A Boston jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $42 million to a Massachusetts family, finding its baby powder caused Paul Lovell’s mesothelioma. He testified that he used J&J’s baby powder for 40 years, applying it to himself and his children, and that he was diagnosed in 2021.
The verdict is among the largest ever awarded in Massachusetts talc litigation. It underscores the mounting legal pressure facing J&J nationwide over claims of asbestos-contaminated talcum powder.
During the 2-week trial, Lovell’s attorneys noted he’d never worked in factories or other sites at higher risk for asbestos exposure. The jury agreed the company’s talc-based baby powder was contaminated with asbestos, directly causing Lovell’s mesothelioma. Jurors also concluded the company was J&J negligent, hid evidence of contamination and failed to warn consumers for decades.
“Paul never worked in a factory, never used joint compound, and never had any occupational exposure to asbestos,” said attorney Danny Kraft in a statement. “Instead, like untold millions of Americans, he was a lifelong user of J&J’s Baby Powder. He trusted the product on himself and on his children.”
Attorney Aaron Chapman added, “This verdict is not just about Paul Lovell. It’s about every consumer who was told these products were safe. For years, Johnson & Johnson ignored its own internal warnings and scientific evidence about the presence of asbestos in its talc. The jury has sent a strong message: Corporate misconduct will not be tolerated.”
J&J’s Response to the Verdict
Johnson & Johnson continues to deny its talc products contain asbestos or cause cancer. In a statement following the landmark $42 million verdict, global litigation Vice President Erik Haas, not only claimed the verdict was the result of “junk science,” he also said J&J plans to sue the expert cited in the case.
Haas promised an immediate appeal and disparaged Lovell’s attorneys. He argued, “The plaintiff’s lawyers’ business model is to roll the dice in search of jackpot verdicts, fueled by litigation-funded junk science, without regard to the fact that most claimants recover nothing in the tort system.”
This verdict follows a string of recent large jury awards against J&J, as courts around the country weigh evidence that the company’s talcum powder products may have exposed millions to toxic asbestos. Currently, J&J faces more than 63,000 lawsuits from people alleging harm from its talc products.
$8M Awarded in Another Massachusetts Talc Case
Another high-profile talc lawsuit in Massachusetts recently ended with an $8 million jury award for Janice Paluzzi. She used J&J’s talcum powder products for decades, believing them to be safe for daily use.
Attorneys presented evidence she had no other known contact with asbestos, mirroring other lawsuit claims nationwide. The jury in this case also found J&J negligent, determining that its talc products were asbestos-contaminated and directly caused Paluzzi’s mesothelioma diagnosis.
Jurors also ruled that the company breached the warranty that its products were safe for consumers. This case further demonstrates the mounting asbestos litigation J&J continues to face, even after removing talc from its baby powder and repeatedly denying the presence of asbestos in its products.
“Johnson & Johnson knew its talc Baby Powder could kill, and they chose to keep selling it anyway, despite the availability of safer cornstarch-based powders,” said Ben Braly, one of Paluzzi’s attorneys. “We are grateful to the jury for holding them to account.”
J&J’s Ongoing Talc Legal Battles
J&J’s efforts to resolve the majority of talc claims via bankruptcy court have failed. This has left the company to defend individual lawsuits in state and federal courts across the country. Settlements and jury awards are expected to climb as more cases go to trial in the coming months.
Despite J&J’s persistent denials, the company’s third attempt to resolve talc-related claims in bankruptcy court was dismissed in March 2025. J&J’s subsidiary, Red River Talc LLC, employed a controversial “Texas Two-Step” strategy in its filing, which was rejected as bad faith, including flaws in the voting process among claimants.
Following this dismissal, J&J officially abandoned its bankruptcy approach and announced it would return to defending the numerous pending lawsuits in the tort system. The company also reversed approximately $7 billion it had reserved for bankruptcy settlements, signaling a renewed focus on litigation rather than a global resolution through bankruptcy courts.
