Yesterday, a St. Louis jury just absolutely crushed Johnson & Johnson again in another baby powder lawsuit. Twenty two women[and their families] filed suit claiming that the baby powder they had used for years was the source of their ovarian cancer. The jury agreed and awarded the group $550 million dollars in compensatory damages AND $4.14 billion in punitive damages. The jury entered the punitive damages award after concluding Johnson& Johnson knew that the asbestos residue in the baby powder increased the risk of ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson trotted out their reps to to discuss their “deep disappointment” with the verdict and of course to complaint about a “fundamentally unfair process”. Johnson & Johnson continues to insist the baby powder was safe.

This latest result is only the tip of the iceberg. There have been other enormous verdicts but Johnson & Johnson has been able to get them overturned. There are reportedly 9,000 lawsuits making their way through the courts and that number will only increase as these verdicts generate publicity. To date, several juries have been persuaded the link between the baby powder and ovarian cancer was properly established at trial. Does Johnson & Johnson really think that appellate courts will continue to bail it out as these verdicts mount?