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- J&J's faces high-stakes lawsuits relating to claims that the company failed to warn customers about traces of asbestos in its baby powder products.
- In court testimony on Monday, CEO Alex Gorsky said he relied on the findings of internal company, according to a report from Bloomberg.
- FDA testing showed trace amounts of asbestos in the product as little as three months ago -contradicting the company's findings
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J&J CEO Alex Gorsky said he counted on the company's experts when he claimed on national TV that the company's baby powder contained no asbestos and was safe to use, according to a Bloomberg report.
Gorsky appeared in court Monday after the company fought a subpoena for him to testify for a trial in the company's hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey. J&J argued that Gorsky had limited personal understanding of the products' safety.
Four plaintiffs with mesothelioma - a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure - have sued the company for failing to disclose the talc-based product contained traces of asbestos.
Gorsky told jurors he didn't have first-hand knowledge of the science behind the product and instead trusted the company's own experts when it came to testing and analysis of the powder, Bloomberg reported.
However, the company's findings contradicted the Food and Drug Administration tests on products as recently as three months ago when 33,000 bottles were recalled for trace amounts of asbestos.
J&J is battling more than 16,000 lawsuits in cases involving disputes over the talc-based product. And plaintiffs in a separate case with J&J were awarded $37.2 million, according to Bloomberg.
Gorsky's initial defense of the product on CNBC's "Mad Money" came after Reuters reported that the company had internal documents indicating J&J knew about the potential contamination of asbestos in mining of talc as far back as 1971.