Philadelphia Jury Returns $250,000 Verdict Against J&J in Latest Baby Powder-Ovarian Cancer Trial

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PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 13, 2026--

A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has found Johnson & Johnson ( NYSE:JNJ ) responsible for the company’s baby powder products contributing to the death of a Pennsylvania woman.

The jury deliberated for more than three days before returning a verdict totaling $250,000 on behalf of the estate of York, Pennsylvania, resident Gayle Emerson, who died as a result of ovarian cancer in November of 2019 after filing her lawsuit six months earlier. The verdict included $50,000 in compensatory damages to Ms. Emerson’s family and $200,000 in punitive damages against the company on claims of product liability, failure to warn about the products’ dangers, and negligence.

According to court testimony, Ms. Emerson used J&J’s talc-based body powders for feminine hygiene for more than 45 years and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015 at the age of 64.

“It’s important to note that this jury found J&J’s product and corporate conduct directly responsible for the death of Ms. Emerson. While the jury’s award is less than we hoped, and significantly less than the amount necessary to punish J&J for their outrageous conduct, we are moving forward. Our legal system is once again able to resume holding this giant company accountable for the death and devastation it has caused,” says Leigh O’Dell of the Beasley Allen Law Firm, who tried the case with David Dearing of Beasley Allen and Richard Golomb of Golomb Legal. “The evidence is clear that the company knew that its talc-based products were routinely contaminated with asbestos and other carcinogens but chose to deny and cover up that knowledge for decades. In addition, we will also review the trial record and consider appropriate avenues for post-trial motions.”

The trial was the first of several scheduled to be tried in 2026 in courts across the nation on similar claims, including more than 70,000 lawsuits currently consolidated in multidistrict litigation in New Jersey federal court. The initial bellwether trial in that MDL is expected to be tried later this year.

Johnson & Johnson made three unsuccessful attempts to consolidate talc liability claims under bankruptcy protection beginning in 2021, which created a pause on all litigation until last year. In 2020, J&J announced the company would no longer make or market talc-based powders for the North American market, a ban that was expanded in 2023 to include all worldwide sales.

In December a Los Angeles County jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a combined $40 million to two women on ovarian cancer claims, the first such trial following the company’s more than three years of bankruptcy-related delays. In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2025 the company suffered more than $2 billion in combined trial losses based on claims that talc exposure resulted in mesothelioma.

In January, J&J reported 2025 revenues of $94.2 billion while anticipating more than $100 billion in annual revenue by year-end 2026.

More than 30 peer-reviewed medical studies published in the last 40 years have found a statistically significant correlation between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer. Most recently, scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) raised the organization’s classification of the cancer risk stemming from genital talc use to “probable,” while a May 2024 study published by National Institutes of Health researchers in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found a “significant increase” in the data that supports “the plausibility of a true association between genital powder use and ovarian cancer risk.”

Further research has demonstrated that talc particles, when applied to the perineal area, can migrate to the ovaries and result in inflammation and related malignancies.

The case is Emerson v. Johnson & Johnson, No.190509334, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

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KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA PENNSYLVANIA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ONCOLOGY HEALTH CONSUMER LEGAL WOMEN

SOURCE: Beasley Allen Law Firm

Copyright Business Wire 2026.

PUB: 02/13/2026 04:18 PM/DISC: 02/13/2026 04:18 PM

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