Though it faces billions of dollars in claims alleging its talc baby powder products contained asbestos and caused cancer, the financial hit to the company has yet to be determined. Johnson & Johnson stock plunged Friday following a report by Reuters that it knew for decades that its baby powder contained asbestos. The company released a statement calling the Reuters article "one-sided, false and inflammatory."

Johnson & Johnson is just the latest healthcare product company to face a wave of liability lawsuits.

So far, some juries have sided with the company, which maintains that independent tests have shown the product does not contain asbestos. Other juries have been unable to reach verdicts.

In July, a Missouri jury ordered J&J to pay $4.69 billion in a case involving 22 women and their families. A judge affirmed the verdict in August and J&J vowed to appeal it.

Even if that verdict stands, the award would fall short of the biggest medical product liability case to date, which involved a diet pill, Fen-Phen, that was linked to potentially fatal heart problems.