Illinois Jury Awards $45 Million in Mesothelioma Case Against Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue, Inc.

Dean Omar Branham Shirley represents family of deceased woman

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A jury in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago found Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and two subsidiaries liable in the asbestos-related death of a mother and grandmother, and awarded her family $45 million in damages.

The jury concluded that Theresa Garcia’s lifelong use of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder and other products was the cause of her mesothelioma, an always-fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. Laboratory testing has shown the presence of asbestos in some samples of Johnson’s Baby Powder.

The trial follows two Johnson & Johnson bankruptcy filings that stayed litigation in this and thousands of other cases involving asbestos and talc.

“After years of delay caused by Johnson & Johnson’s bad faith abuse of the bankruptcy system, we are so grateful that the jury saw through Johnson & Johnson’s, Johnson & Johnson Holdco, Inc.’s and Kenvue, Inc.’s deceptions. The defendants knew that talc contains asbestos impurities that were mined and put in the bottles of baby powder J&J sold,” said attorney Jessica Dean of Dallas’ Dean Omar Branham Shirley who represents Ms. Garcia’s family along with the firm’s Ben Adams and Mark Buha, and Christian Luciano Santiago of Vogelzang Law. “Not only did the defendants’ negligence and deceit cheat loyal customers like Theresa, but their deception has ultimately robbed a family of their mother.”

Throughout her life, Ms. Garcia, a mother of six from Chicago, frequently used talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder on herself and, later when she became a mother, on her children.

Attorneys for Ms. Garcia demonstrated that the talc-containing products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson also contained asbestos fibers. Experts explained that the daily use and amount inhaled by Ms. Garcia throughout her life led to her mesothelioma. She was diagnosed in January 2020 and died in July of that year.

“Ms. Garcia’s case was delayed by several years when Johnson & Johnson filed two bad faith bankruptcies in an attempt to avoid the decades of liability it now faces,” said Mr. Adams. “During the pendency of those bad faith bankruptcies, Johnson & Johnson engaged in a corporate shell game creating Kenvue, Inc. (NYSE: KVUE) The Cook County jury found that Kenvue is responsible for 70% of Mrs. Garcia’s injuries and death as the successor in interest to Johnson & Johnson. The jury also put 15% of the responsibility on Johnson & Johnson and 15% on Johnson & Johnson Holdco, Inc.”

Ms. Garcia is survived by her children Stephanie Salcedo, Vanessa Garcia, Edward Cerda, Jr., Jazmine Cerda, Caressa Garcia, and Anyssa Cerda.

The case is Stephanie Salcedo et al., vs Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, et al., Case No. 2020 L 004505 in Circuit Court in Cook County, Illinois.

About Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP

Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP is a national and recognized trial firm that handles cases across the country for individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries or have died as a result of the irresponsible conduct of others. For more information, please visit http://www.dobslegal.com.