A Connecticut judge has increased a Johnson & Johnson mesothelioma verdict to $25 million, adding $10 million in punitive damages to a 2024 jury award for Somers resident Evan Plotkin.
For Plotkin and his family, the enhanced verdict represents judicial recognition that J&J’s conduct warranted punishment beyond compensatory damages. This significant finding could influence how future juries evaluate the company’s behavior.
The Case
Plotkin filed suit in 2021 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, alleging decades of exposure to asbestos-contaminated talcum powder. He used J&J’s baby powder on himself starting in the 1950s and later on his children through the 2000s.
In October 2024, a Bridgeport Superior Court jury awarded $15 million in compensatory damages after hearing evidence that J&J knew its talc could contain tremolite asbestos, mined from the same deposits as the asbestos mineral, yet failed to warn consumers.
The jury found J&J’s conduct was “reckless, intentional, malicious and extremely reprehensible,” warranting punitive damages. Under Connecticut law, trial judges have exclusive authority to determine punitive damage amounts when juries find them warranted.
On October 1, 2025, the court added $10 million in punitive damages, bringing the total award to $25 million. Plotkin’s legal team at Dean Omar Branham Shirley LLP had originally sought $30 million.
J&J’s Response
Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s Worldwide Head of Litigation, announced the company would “immediately appeal the erroneous rulings” and criticized the verdict as based on “junk science.”
J&J maintains its talc products never caused mesothelioma, pointing to a recent South Carolina case where the company prevailed. The company transitioned to cornstarch-based baby powder by 2023, claiming market preferences, not safety concerns, drove the change.
Part of Mounting Verdicts
The Plotkin verdict joins a growing list of substantial awards against J&J in talc litigation:
- $1.56 billion to Cherie Craft in Baltimore (December 2025)
- $966 million to Mae Moore’s family in California
- $65.5 million to a Minnesota mother with pleural mesothelioma
- $42.6 million to Paul Lovell’s family in Massachusetts (January 2026)
More than 67,000 talc lawsuits remain pending against the company nationwide.
What This Means for Patients
The punitive damage finding signals courts are examining not just whether J&J products caused harm, but whether the company’s decades-long failure to warn constituted willful misconduct. For patients and families navigating mesothelioma diagnoses, consulting with specialized medical and legal resources remains essential.