Last October, a Connecticut jury found Johnson & Johnson (J&J) guilty of negligence and awarded asbestos lung cancer victim Evan Plotkin $15 million in compensatory damages. Now, Plotkin’s attorney is asking a judge to order the company to pay $30 million in punitive damages. In a hearing this week, J&J argued that its actions did not raise to the level of “evil motive” required to justify such a significant award.
J&J’s Baby Powder Blamed for Asbestos Lung Cancer
Mr. Plotkin filed his personal injury lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson after being diagnosed with lung cancer that he blamed on asbestos hidden in their popular baby powder product. He pointed to his lifelong use of the product, as well as his having used the product on his children, and accused the company of strict liability, negligence, failure to warn, and breach of warranty.
In addition to the product liability claim, Mr. Plotkin accused the company of recklessness, fraudulent misrepresentation, and conspiracy. The jury ordered the company to pay the asbestos lung cancer victim $15 million in compensatory damages and found the company liable for an unspecified amount in punitive damages.
Hearing Held on Asbestos Lung Cancer Punitive Damages
At a hearing before Superior Court Judge Charles P. Reed, the asbestos lung cancer victim’s attorney noted that state law caps punitive damages at twice the amount awarded in compensatory damages and argued that amount is appropriate in Mr. Plotkin’s case. But Johnson & Johnson’s attorneys pushed back on that idea, saying that the correct amount for this case should not exceed $10 million; they also argued that no award should be given at all.
In asserting that $30 million would be an inappropriate award in the case, J&J’s attorney said that the company had not concealed the presence of asbestos in its product and did not act with the “degree of reprehensibility” required for that kind of award. The standard set by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1983 says that punitive damages in product liability cases are reserved for “wanton and malicious injury, evil motive and violence.” The judge is considering both arguments.
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