On Tuesday, a California jury awarded $18.8 million to 24-year-old Emory Hernandez Valadez, a mesothelioma sufferer and longtime user of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. The jury attributed his illness entirely to the talc product, marking this case as the company’s first trial of this nature since restructuring its liabilities into a new bankrupt entity, LTL Management LLC.
After over a week of deliberations, the verdict came down heavily against Johnson & Johnson, assigning them 100% responsibility for Valadez’s condition. Valadez, who was diagnosed in early 2022, is reportedly in the advanced stages of malignant pericardial mesothelioma.
J&J Promises to Appeal
Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s litigation vice president, expressed the company’s intention to appeal. “While we thank the jurors for their service, we plan to appeal due to critical judicial errors that limited our defense. We were unable to present significant evidence that would demonstrate the plaintiff’s rare mesothelioma type was not due to our baby powder,” Haas stated.
During the final arguments on July 10, Joseph Satterley, representing Hernandez, emphasized the severe impact of the disease on his client. Conversely, J&J’s attorney, Allison Brown, argued that the company’s baby powder was not to blame for Hernandez’s illness, noting that his extensive medical records do not link his condition to talc usage.
J&J discontinued sales of its talcum powder in North America in 2020 amidst mounting lawsuits. Some claimants have criticized the recent spinoff into LTL Management and its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings as a strategy to avoid liability. However, the jury did not hold LTL Management responsible in their recent verdict.
Haas added that the verdict will not influence the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which most claimants’ attorneys support. “We are committed to resolving these claims fairly and efficiently,” he remarked.
Satterley countered, highlighting a pattern in recent trials: “Every jury since 2020 has consistently recognized the link between significant use of J&J’s baby powder and asbestos-related cancer, confirming the company’s negligence and concealment of the risks,” he stated on Tuesday.
