During an earlier phase of the trial, a different jury held J&J liable for the plaintiffs’ cancers and awarded them $37.2 million in compensation. Under New Jersey law, punitive damages are capped at 5 times the amount of compensatory damages, according to plaintiffs lawyer Chris Placitella. “We believe the jury was speaking directly to Alex Gorsky,” plaintiffs lawyer Placitella said. J&J faces more than 16,000 lawsuits alleging it sold powders contaminated with asbestos and failed to warn users. J&J denies that its talc causes cancer, saying numerous studies and tests by regulators worldwide have shown its talc to be safe and asbestos-free.

Source: National Post February 06, 2020 23:15 UTC