PHILADELPHIA, PA — A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas awarded $250,000 against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), finding the company’s talc-based baby powder products contributed to the death of a Pennsylvania woman from ovarian cancer, according to court records and attorneys involved in the case.
The verdict was returned after more than three days of deliberations in the case of Emerson v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 190509334.
The jury awarded $50,000 in compensatory damages to the family of Gayle Emerson, a York, Pennsylvania, resident, and $200,000 in punitive damages on claims including product liability, failure to warn and negligence.
Emerson died in November 2019 after filing suit six months earlier. Court testimony indicated she had used Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based body powders for feminine hygiene for more than 45 years and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015 at age 64.
“It’s important to note that this jury found J&J’s product and corporate conduct directly responsible for the death of Ms. Emerson,” said Leigh O’Dell of the Beasley Allen Law Firm, who tried the case with David Dearing and Richard Golomb. O’Dell added that the legal team would review the trial record and consider post-trial motions.
Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The trial is the first of several scheduled in 2026 involving similar claims. More than 70,000 lawsuits alleging harm from talc-based products are consolidated in multidistrict litigation in federal court in New Jersey. An initial bellwether trial in that proceeding is expected later this year.
Johnson & Johnson made three attempts beginning in 2021 to resolve talc liabilities through bankruptcy proceedings, which paused litigation for more than three years. In 2020, the company said it would stop selling talc-based powders in North America, expanding that decision worldwide in 2023.
In December, a Los Angeles County jury awarded a combined $40 million to two women in an ovarian cancer trial involving talc products. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company reported more than $2 billion in combined trial losses related to mesothelioma claims tied to talc exposure.
In January, Johnson & Johnson reported 2025 revenue of $94.2 billion and said it expects to surpass $100 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2026.
More than 30 peer-reviewed studies over the past four decades have examined potential links between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified genital talc use as “probably carcinogenic,” and a May 2024 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported a significant increase supporting an association between genital powder use and ovarian cancer risk.
The company has previously denied that its talc products contain asbestos or cause cancer and has said its products are safe when used as directed.
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