Los Angeles: A California jury on Friday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $40 million to two women who alleged that the company’s talc-based baby powder caused their ovarian cancer.

The verdict, delivered in Los Angeles Superior Court, marks the first major state court decision in California’s coordinated proceedings since the company’s various legal manoeuvres to settle the litigation through bankruptcy were halted.

The Plaintiffs and the Verdict

The jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. Both women, residents of California, testified that they had used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder daily for approximately 40 years as part of their personal hygiene routines.

Kent was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014, while Schultz received he

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