On August 21, 2017, a California jury awarded a $417 million verdict to plaintiff and California resident Eva Echeverria in a lawsuit centering on the carcinogenic properties of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) talcum powder-based products. During the trial, Echeverria shared testimony describing her lifelong use of J&J’s talcum powder products for feminine hygiene. The use of talc in this manner has been linked to the cultivation of ovarian cancer.
J&J disregarded studies proving this link and continues to fail to warn its customers about the risk of using their talc products for feminine care and genital (perineal) use. Echeverria, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, never encountered a warning label on the talc products she used daily. She even continued to apply them after her cancer diagnosis, until she happened to see a TV ad about the connection between talk-use and cancer in 2016. Echeverria is now terminally ill with ovarian cancer.
The $417 million awarded to Echeverria exceeds 
the sum of all previous talc awards in St. Louis trials, which total $307 million. This trial in Los Angeles was the first to be held before a state jury outside of Missouri. Bloomberg reports that Monday’s massive verdict is the third-largest jury award in the U.S. in 2017 to date (bloomberg.com). J&J still faces about 4,800 outstanding lawsuits regarding the link between its talc-based products and cancer.
According to Reuters, Echeverria’s Attorney, Mark Robinson, urged J&J to immediately begin warning women about the grave risks of using its talcum powder for feminine hygiene. “J&J needs to see they not only have verdicts against them in St. Louis, they now also have them in Los Angeles. There’s a problem all over the country with women using talcum powder on daily basis for 10, 20, 30, 40 years,” he stated outside the courtroom (reuters.com).
Court records reveal J&J has known about the serious dangers of using talcum powder in this manner for decades. Yet, it continues to negligently market its baby powder and Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® for feminine and genital hygiene, directly increasing the risk of ovarian cancer risk for its customers.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s Talcum Powder. If this has happened to you, please visit our Talcum Powder Lawsuit page, where you are invited to request a free consultation. You can also call the Miller Firm at 1-800-882-2525.