Johnson & Johnson’s was ordered to pay $18.8 million to a California man who said he developed cancer from exposure to its baby powder.
The jury decision is a setback for the company as it seeks to settle thousands of similar cases over its talc-based products in a bankruptcy court.
The jury ruled in favor of Emory Hernandez Valadez, who filed the suit last year, seeking monetary damages.
The 24-year-old Hernandez developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, in the tissue around his heart as a result of what he claimed was heavy exposure to the company’s talc since childhood.
