Stephen Lanzo III filed the lawsuit after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma after using Johnson’s baby powder and Shower-to-Shower between 1972 and 2003.
He claims the company knew that talcum powder could be contaminated with dangerous amounts of asbestos, a known carcinogen, and yet failed to warn consumers about the risk.
Lanzo says his exposure to asbestos in talc began when he was an infant in the 1970s, when his mother used baby powder on his body.
As an adult, Lanzo developed mesothelioma, an aggressive lung cancer that is caused by breathing irritating asbestos particles.
The New Jersey state jury slammed Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier, Imery Talc America Inc., with damages of $30 million to Lanzo and $7 million to his wife for loss of consortium.
The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey, County of Middlesex — In RE: Lanzo et al. v. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. et al. — Case No. L-7385-16.