California jury awards $29 million to woman with cancer who used J&J talc

A California jury on Wednesday awarded $29 million to a woman who said that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson's talcum-powder-based products caused her cancer. The verdict, in California Superior Court in Oakland, marks the latest defeat for the healthcare conglomerate facing more than 13,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide. J&J said it would appeal, citing "serious procedural and evidentiary errors" in the course of the trial, saying lawyers for the woman had fundamentally failed to show it's baby powder contains asbestos. The company did not provide further details of the alleged errors during the trial. "We respect the legal process and reiterate that jury verdicts are not medical, scientific or regulatory conclusions about a product," J&J said in a statement on Wednesday.