據(jù)路透社報(bào)道，當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間10月7日，美國(guó)洛杉磯縣法院一陪審團(tuán)裁定，強(qiáng)生公司（Johnson & Johnson）須向一名死于間皮瘤的女性的家屬支付9.66億美元（約合人民幣68.8億元）賠償金，認(rèn)定其滑石粉產(chǎn)品致癌，公司應(yīng)承擔(dān)相應(yīng)責(zé)任。這是針對(duì)強(qiáng)生爽身粉產(chǎn)品致癌指控的最新一宗判決。

A Los Angeles jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, finding the company liable in the latest trial alleging its talc products cause cancer.

據(jù)悉，死者梅·摩爾是美國(guó)加利福尼亞州居民，2021年因罕見癌癥間皮瘤去世，享年88歲。這種疾病通常與長(zhǎng)期接觸石棉有關(guān)。其家屬同年起訴強(qiáng)生公司，指控其嬰兒爽身粉產(chǎn)品含有石棉纖維，導(dǎo)致摩爾患癌。

The family of Mae Moore, a California resident who died at age 88 in 2021, sued the company the same year, claiming J&J's talc baby powder products contained asbestos fibers that caused her rare cancer.

根據(jù)法庭文件，陪審團(tuán)判令強(qiáng)生支付1600萬美元補(bǔ)償性賠償金及9.5億美元懲罰性賠償金。

The jury late on Monday ordered J&J to pay $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, according to court filings.

15年來獲賠金額最高的判決

強(qiáng)生將上訴

據(jù)了解，這是自強(qiáng)生滑石粉訴訟持續(xù)15年來，單一原告獲賠金額最高的一起判決。不過，該賠償數(shù)額在強(qiáng)生公司上訴后可能被削減。按照美國(guó)最高法院的相關(guān)裁定，懲罰性賠償金通常不得超過補(bǔ)償性賠償金的九倍。

The verdict could be reduced on appeal as the US Supreme Court has found that punitive damages should generally be no more than nine times compensatory damages.

圖源：路透社

對(duì)此，強(qiáng)生全球訴訟事務(wù)副總裁埃里克·哈斯在聲明中表示，公司計(jì)劃立即提出上訴，并稱這一判決“極端且違憲”。他還指控原告律師在摩爾案中“引用了不應(yīng)被提交給陪審團(tuán)的偽科學(xué)證據(jù)”。

Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson's worldwide vice-president of litigation, said in a statement that the company plans to immediately appeal, calling the verdict "egregious and unconstitutional".

"The plaintiff lawyers in this Moore case based their arguments on 'junk science' that never should have been presented to the jury," Haas said.

強(qiáng)生方面重申，其產(chǎn)品“安全、不含石棉，也不會(huì)導(dǎo)致癌癥”。公司指出，早在2020年就已在美國(guó)停止銷售含滑石粉的嬰兒爽身粉，并改用玉米淀粉配方。間皮瘤是一種罕見癌癥，通常與長(zhǎng)期接觸石棉有關(guān)。

The company has said its products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and do not cause cancer. J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the US in 2020, switching to a cornstarch product. Mesothelioma has been linked to asbestos exposure.

而原告律師團(tuán)隊(duì)則援引強(qiáng)生內(nèi)部文件反駁稱，公司早在20世紀(jì)70年代便已知悉其滑石粉中可能含有石棉，但未向公眾披露風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。代表摩爾家屬的律師特雷·布蘭漢在判決后稱，其團(tuán)隊(duì)“希望強(qiáng)生最終能為這些原本可以避免的悲劇承擔(dān)責(zé)任”。

根據(jù)法庭文件，強(qiáng)生目前正面臨超過6.7萬起訴訟，原告均聲稱在使用嬰兒爽身粉及其他滑石粉產(chǎn)品后罹患癌癥。其中，指控滑石粉導(dǎo)致間皮瘤的案件僅占一小部分，大多數(shù)與卵巢癌有關(guān)。

J&J is facing lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs who say they were diagnosed with cancer after using baby powder and other talc products, according to court filings.

The number of lawsuits alleging talc caused mesothelioma is a small subset of these cases, with the vast majority involving ovarian cancer claims.

來源：路透社 紅星新聞

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