Jury sides with Cherie Craft, a mother and nonprofit leader who spent her career protecting children and families

A Baltimore city jury has returned a verdict in favor of Cherie A. Craft, awarding her over $1.5 billion after finding that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries exposed her to asbestos through talc-based personal care products and caused her to develop peritoneal malignant mesothelioma, an incurable cancer. The verdict is believed to be the largest ever returned against Johnson & Johnson for a single plaintiff.

Ms. Craft, a mother and the founder, CEO and executive director of Smart from the Start, a nonprofit that supports children and families through trauma-informed community programs, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2024.

“Cherie Craft runs a non-profit where she pours her life into helping others. Her cancer was preventable. She used Johnson’s Baby Powder every day of her life until she was diagnosed with cancer,” said Jessica Dean, a partner at Dean Omar Branham Shirley, who represented Ms. Craft during trial. “J&J refused to accept any responsibility and fought at every turn. We are grateful for the dedication of the jury and court and that J&J was held accountable.”

The jury’s award included $59.84 million in compensatory damages, covering medical expenses, loss wages, pain and suffering, and other harms related to Ms. Craft’s mesothelioma diagnosis, as well as $1 billion in punitive damages assessed against Johnson & Johnson and $500 million in punitive damages assessed against Pecos River Talc.

Surpassing the firm’s prior Los Angeles verdict on behalf of the family of Mae Moore, in which a jury awarded $966 million, this verdict is now believed to be the largest ever returned against Johnson & Johnson for a single plaintiff.

The DOBS legal team, including Ms. Dean, Kathy Farinas, and Venus Burns along with Daniel Brown and Matthew Kiely of Brown | Kiely LLP, presented evidence detailing decades of asbestos exposure from talc-based products and demonstrated that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries kept this damning information from regulators, doctors and consumers until fairly recently.

The case is Craft v. Johnson & Johnson, tried in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City as part of the Baltimore City Asbestos Litigation.

The ruling comes on the heels of DOBS’ verdict last week against Johnson & Johnson in which a Minnesota jury awarded $65.5 million, the largest award to date in the state, to a 37-year-old mother of three.

About Dean Omar Branham Shirley

Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP, is a nationally recognized trial firm that handles cases across the country for individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries or have died as a result of the irresponsible conduct of others. For more information, please visit http://www.dobslegal.com.

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