$4.7 Billion Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson for Carcinogenic Talcum Powder
A Missouri jury recently awarded $4.7 billion in damages to 22 women who claimed that they had developed ovarian cancer as a result of their using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder. Those women represent a small fraction of the more than 4,800 women who have brought similar lawsuits against this company.
The attorneys at the Bart Bernard Injury Lawyers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana applaud this verdict for the clear message it sends to corporations that place potentially hazardous products into the marketplace and that fail to warn consumers about the risks associated with their products.
Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson is one of the country’s oldest purveyors of talcum powder. Since the early 1970’s, the company has removed all traces of asbestos from its products. As claimed in the many lawsuits against the company, however, the other components of its talcum powder product continue to pose risks when they are absorbed into a woman’s reproductive system, which can cause ovarian inflammation that leads to cancer.
Virtually every woman who has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson has suffered from aggressive forms of ovarian cancer, requiring them to undergo painful surgeries and courses of chemotherapy. Many of the cases have been consolidated at a Federal District Court in New Jersey under multidistrict litigation procedural rules, and new cases filed in Federal Court will be transferred to that venue.
Talcum Powder Cancer Verdicts
Apart from the Federal Court cases, a jury in a Missouri state court awarded the recent $4.7 billion verdict. That jury allocated $25 million in actual damages to each of the 22 plaintiffs in that case to compensate them for their medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Six of those plaintiffs had passed away as a result of their illness prior to the trial, and their claims were supported by survivors in their families. Johnson & Johnson has stated that it intends to appeal this verdict.
Plaintiffs have similarly prevailed in at least six other talcum powder cancer cases against Johnson & Johnson, with different amounts of compensatory and punitive awards.
These verdicts, the consolidation of the Federal cases into a single venue, and the company’s response to this litigation suggest two things:
- The victories achieved thus far by plaintiffs in these cases show the validity of the argument that a causal connection exists between Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder product and ovarian cancer (which argument is supported by certain peer-reviewed studies).
- In spite of this conclusion, Johnson & Johnson will continue to challenge claims and verdicts, presumably until such time that a universal settlement is achieved to provide compensation for all women who were harmed by the company’s talcum powder product.
What to Do if You Believe That Johnson & Johnson’s Talcum Powder Harmed You
If you regularly used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder and you have been recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer or any precursors to ovarian cancer, such as endometriosis, contact an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney to start the process of filing your claim. All states have time limits (typically between two and three years following diagnosis of an illness) for filing negligence actions under their statutes of limitations procedures. If you do not file your claim with the allotted time, you will lose all opportunity to recover damages from the company that is responsible for your illness.
Attorney Bart Bernard Will Fight to Win the Compensation You Deserve if Talcum Powder Caused Your Ovarian Cancer
Please call talcum powder cancer lawyer Bart Bernard for legal representation and to claim the compensation you deserve if you or one of your family members have suffered an ovarian cancer diagnosis following their use of talcum powder. The attorneys at the Bart Bernard Injury Lawyers have committed to help clients and their families in Lafayette, Kenner, Baton Rouge, and elsewhere in Louisiana to recover damages from companies that expose consumers to harmful products and that lead to severe illnesses, injuries, and death. We will thoroughly investigate your claim and your family’s history and we will gather all necessary evidence that shows how your use of a carcinogenic product preceded your diagnosis, particularly where no warnings were given regarding the risks of using that product.
Additional Resources:
- NYTimes.com: Risk on All Sides as 4,800 Women Sue Over Johnson’s Baby Powder and Cancer. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/business/johnson-and-johnson-baby-talcum-powder-lawsuits.html
- STLToday.com: How Did Jury Arrive At $4.69 Billion Verdict in Talcum Powder Case? https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/how-did-jury-arrive-at-billion-verdict-in-talcum-powder/article_0ea0da33-d4ed-5966-b33f-39fa90c13b20.html
Notwithstanding major advances in reproductive healthcare over the past twenty years, ovarian cancer continues to rank as the fifth highest cause of cancer-related deaths among women. The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2018 more than 22,000 cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed, and that more than 14,000 women will die due to complications from ovarian cancer.
