J&J To Pay $72m Over Talc-Linked Cancer Death

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $72m (£51m) to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to the company's talc-based baby powder.

A jury in Missouri awarded $10m of actual damages and $62m of punitive damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox, her family's lawyers said.

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said: "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."

The lawsuit alleged the health products firm actively covered up studies that suggested a link between ovarian cancer and their baby powder in order to boost sales.

Several hundred similar lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson, but Monday's verdict in St Louis was the first in the US to award damages over the claims.

In 2013, a federal jury in South Dakota found that a woman's use of Johnson & Johnson's body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian cancer, but jurors did not award damages in the case.

Ms Fox, of Alabama, claimed she used Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 30 years before she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago.

She died in October at age 62.

Jurors in St Louis deliberated for four hours on Monday before finding Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, the family's lawyers said.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which now owns the Shower to Shower brand, was not named as a defendant in the case.