A jury in South Carolina has awarded $63.4 million to a plaintiff who alleged he contracted mesothelioma from using Johnson & Johnson’s talc products. The verdict, delivered on Thursday, consists of $32.6 million in compensatory damages, with Johnson & Johnson found strictly liable for Michael Perry’s cancer diagnosis. Perry, aged 53, received his diagnosis last year.
The jury additionally assigned punitive damages of $30 million against Johnson & Johnson and $760,000 against co-defendant American International Industries. This development marks the third significant verdict secured by the Dallas-based firm Dean Omar Branham Shirley against Johnson & Johnson, following earlier jury awards of $45 million and $260 million in Illinois and Oregon this year.