NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson and an Imerys SA unit must pay an additional $80 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit claiming a man developed cancer due to his exposure to asbestos in talc-based products, a New Jersey state court jury said on Wednesday.
The decision brings the total award to $117 million, including the jury's verdict on Thursday which ordered the two companies to pay $37 million in compensatory damages.
The verdict by jurors in New Brunswick, New Jersey, came in the second trial nationally to focus on claims that J&J's talc products contained asbestos as the company separately fights thousands of cases claiming they can also cause ovarian cancer.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon)