The New Jersey jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay an additional $ 750 million to the group of plaintiffs in compensation for damage that might have been caused by using Baby Powder, Bloomberg reported.

According to the source, earlier these plaintiffs were awarded compensation by this company in the amount of $ 37.2 million. The judge presiding at the hearing made it clear on Thursday that it could reduce the amount of damages mentioned above to $ 186.5 million.

Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled a batch of 33 thousand bottles with baby powder Baby Powder in 2019. The recall was triggered by an inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which revealed the presence of chrysotile asbestos in a sample taken from a single bottle purchased from an online retailer at a submicroimpurity level (not more than 0.00002%). Chrysotile asbestos has carcinogenic properties and, as plaintiffs insist, can cause cancer with prolonged use. The company later conducted an examination of several dozen samples taken in the recalled batch, and announced the absence of chrysotile asbestos in them. 

Founded in 1886, Johnson & Johnson is one of the world's largest manufacturers of cosmetic and sanitary products and medical equipment. In 2017, the company's turnover amounted to about $ 76 billion.