A jury in a landmark civil suit has ordered the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to pay a staggering $966 million judgment to plaintiffs who alleged that the company’s talc-based products caused their cancer. This massive financial verdict represents one of the largest single awards to date in the ongoing multidistrict litigation surrounding the safety of talcum powder.

The jury found that the company had a clear duty to warn consumers about potential health risks associated with asbestos contamination within the talc, which they failed to do. This ruling will intensify shareholder pressure and severely complicate the company’s ongoing efforts to legally manage and resolve thousands of similar lawsuits through bankruptcy proceedings. The verdict is a significant win for consumer health advocates and is expected to set a new, higher baseline for future settlements and legal liabilities related to the widely-used cosmetic products.