California jury awards $29M in baby powder cancer case

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A California jury has awarded $29 million to a woman who claimed her terminal cancer was caused by Johnson & Johnson baby powder.

Jurors in Oakland found the company liable Wednesday in a suit that claims asbestos in the powder gave Teresa Leavitt mesothelioma.

Some 13,000 similar lawsuits around the country allege New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson hid the powder’s health risks from the public for decades.

Requests for comment from the company weren’t immediately returned.

Johnson & Johnson insists its powder is demonstrably safe and asbestos-free but it has lost a string of court cases.

Last year, a Los Angeles jury awarded $25.7 million to a woman who blamed her cancer on the powder.

A jury in Missouri last year awarded $4.69 million to 22 women.