A Minnesota jury delivered a $65.5 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson on December 20, 2025, finding the company liable for exposing a woman to asbestos through it’s baby powder, ultimately contributing to her lung cancer diagnosis. The case is the latest in a wave of litigation targeting the healthcare giant over allegations of concealing the risks associated with its talc-based products, despite internal knowledge of potential contamination.This verdict follows several recent multi-million dollar awards against johnson & Johnson, signaling escalating legal challenges for the company as it battles claims linking its products to various cancers.
Published On 20/12/2025
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A Minnesota jury on December 20, 2025, ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $65.5 million to a woman, a mother of three, after determining that the company’s products exposed her to asbestos, contributing to her lung cancer diagnosis.
The jury found that Anna Jane Houghton Carlyle, 37, was entitled to compensation after using the company’s baby powder for years during her childhood. She later developed mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer linked to asbestos exposure, a known carcinogen. This verdict adds to the growing legal challenges facing the healthcare giant.
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During a 13-day trial in Ramsey County Court, Carlyle’s legal team presented evidence alleging that Johnson & Johnson continued to sell and market talc-based products despite knowing about potential asbestos contamination. Carlyle’s attorneys argued that her family received no warnings about the potential risks of using the product on children, noting that the product was removed from U.S. markets in 2020.
“This case wasn’t just about money; it was about truth and accountability,” said Ben Barr, Carlyle’s attorney.
In a statement released through the Associated Press, Eric Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s global vice president of litigation, said the company had won “16 out of 17” ovarian cancer cases previously brought against it, and expects a similar outcome upon appeal of Friday’s ruling.
Haas described the jury’s decision as “inconsistent with decades of independent scientific evaluations” which, he stated, “confirm the safety of talc and the absence of asbestos, and do not support a link to cancer.”
Johnson & Johnson replaced its talc-based baby powder with cornstarch in most of North America in 2020, following a decline in sales.
In April 2025, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge rejected Johnson & Johnson’s plan to pay $9 billion to settle lawsuits alleging ovarian cancer and other female reproductive cancers linked to talc-based products.
Earlier this month, a Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million to two women who claimed Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
In October 2025, another California jury ordered the company to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, concluding that she developed the cancer as a result of using baby powder contaminated with asbestos.
In the latest case, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Their attorney, Daniel Robbins, in California, stated: “All they did was show 50 years of loyalty to Johnson & Johnson as customers. That loyalty was one-sided.”
