The third verdict in cases linking Johnson & Johnson’s talcum baby powder products to ovarian cancer has awarded over $70 million to a long term Johnson & Johnson customer from California with ovarian cancer. Before this St. Louis jury arrived at a verdict, the first two cases against Johnson & Johnson in St. Louis resulted in damages verdicts of $72 million and $55 million.
The 62-year-old woman who was awarded over $70 million in late October has used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder containing talc for feminine hygiene for over 40 years. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and has undergone radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, she currently only has about a 20 percent chance of living more than two more years.
When Johnson & Johnson’s Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® and other talc products are applied externally, fine particles of talc begin to move up to the area of the user’s ovaries, cultivating ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson has been in business since 1984 and now about 2,000 women have filed suits against them regarding the link between ovarian cancer and their talc baby powder products. There are several hundred claims each in St. Louis state court, Los Angeles, and New Jersey, as well as numerous federal cases that have been combined in New Jersey.
Johnson & Johnson ignored four decades of studies linking its talc-containing personal hygiene products to ovarian cancer and failed to take any steps to warn customers about the serious health risks they were facing. Instead of putting their customer’s safety first, they negligently continued to market their talc baby powder products as safe and concentrated on trying to prevent any government regulation of these products.
Imerys Talc America, the supplier of Johnson & Johnson’s talc, was a co-defendant in this case and will have to pay $2.5 million in punitive damages as well. The jury awarded the over $70 million in this case after about three hours of deliberation. Bloomberg reports that regarding Johnson & Johnson’s failure to provide a warning label on the product, one juror stated, “it seemed like Johnson & Johnson didn’t pay attention. It seemed like they didn’t care” (bloomberg.com). The Miller Firm has filed cases nationwide and is aggressively pursuing justice for the many victims of Johnson & Johnson’s deception about the serious dangers of using talcum powder for feminine hygiene.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® Talcum Powder in the genital area. If this has happened to you, please visit our Talcum Powder Lawsuit page to request a free consultation or call us at 1-800-882-2525. If one of your family members has died as a result of contracting ovarian cancer and may have used this talcum powder, we will also welcome your call.
