A Broward County jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $20 million to the family of Dr. Alberto A. Casaretto Sr., who died from mesothelioma linked to decades of using the company’s talc-based body powders. The verdict reflects a consistent pattern: juries across the country are holding J&J accountable for knowingly marketing talc products despite internal evidence of asbestos contamination dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
Casaretto’s case is one of dozens reaching verdict in recent months, as litigation against J&J accelerates. In December alone, a Baltimore jury awarded $1.56 billion to a mesothelioma patient - the largest single talc verdict on record - and a Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million to two women with ovarian cancer from decades of talc use. Over 2025, J&J faced more than $2.5 billion in total verdicts, a sharp increase from $320 million the year prior.
Internal Documents Reveal Decades of Knowledge
What distinguishes these cases isn’t just the size of awards but the evidence juries heard. Internal company documents show that J&J detected asbestos in its talc samples as far back as 1972 to 1975, with one test recording levels described as “rather high.” Despite this knowledge, the company failed to warn the FDA or consumers, continued selling the products, and even developed testing protocols designed to avoid finding the contamination it knew was there.
Evidence presented in a 2023 Oakland case that resulted in a $26.5 million verdict showed J&J knew decades before people were harmed that their Johnson’s Baby Powder contained carcinogenic asbestos. The company had a known safer alternative - cornstarch - available but chose to market talc as safe instead. J&J didn’t discontinue talc-based baby powder until 2023, replacing it with cornstarch only after decades of litigation.
Pattern of Accountability
The Casaretto family’s lawsuit alleged that J&J knew its body powders could cause cancer yet chose not to warn consumers. The jury sided with the plaintiffs, awarding compensatory damages for the suffering caused by his mesothelioma diagnosis.
This pattern reflects broader litigation trends. As of January 2026, over 67,000 talc lawsuits remain pending against J&J, though the company has already settled around 95% of mesothelioma claims filed. The company’s strategy has shifted in response: after attempting to move asbestos liabilities to a subsidiary and pursue bankruptcy protection, J&J now faces juries increasingly skeptical of its claims that it didn’t know about the risks.
For families like Casaretto’s, these verdicts provide resources to cover medical care, lost wages, and end-of-life expenses - though they cannot restore what mesothelioma takes. For the broader patient community, the verdicts signal that evidence matters. When companies knowingly expose consumers to carcinogens and conceal that knowledge, juries are willing to hold them accountable.
J&J has promised to appeal the Baltimore verdict, suggesting years of legal proceedings remain. But the trajectory is clear: the cost of J&J’s decades-long concealment is mounting.