A Plaintiff has moved for a preference (expedited) trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court in JCCP 4872. JCCP 4872 is the consolidated litigation against Johnson & Johnson relating to the carcinogenic properties of its products containing talcum powder and the motion was filed due to the Plaintiff’s terminal ovarian cancer. Preference motions are routinely granted in California in Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding (“JCCP”) cases. Michael Miller of The Miller Firm has been appointed to the executive committee of lawyers that will oversee JCCP 4872.
Plaintiff Eva Echeverria and her counsel, Mark P. Robinson, Jr., requested an expedited trial on December 16, 2016, because Ms. Echeverria has terminal ovarian cancer and rapidly deteriorating health. At age 62, she is one of many life-long customers of Johnson & Johnson who used their talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® for feminine hygiene for decades. When these products are used in this manner, particulates of talcum powder move up to the user’s ovaries and cultivate ovarian cancer. Ms. Echeverria was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 and stopped using these products after she learned of their link to ovarian cancer in 2016. Sadly, Ms. Echeverria’s cancer is aggressive, advanced, and terminal. Chemotherapy has been ineffective and the cancer has spread to many of her other vital organs throughout her abdomen and pelvis. She was hospitalized in the ICU on December 14 due to shortness of breath and fluid in her lungs.
Ms. Echeverria’s oncologists, Sant P. Chawla, M.D. and Annie Yessaian, M.D., have stated that she is not likely to survive beyond six months. The motion filed explains that, “California law gives this Court the discretion and power to set an earlier trial where a party suffers from an illness or condition ‘raising substantial medical doubt of survival of that party beyond six months.’ Code Civ. Proc. § 36(d).” Unfortunately, Ms. Echeverria’s condition clearly falls within the bounds of this description. The motion also states that, under California law, she has the right to participate in her own case and that it has long been recognized that “justice delayed is justice denied” Laborers’ Int’l Union Etc. v. El Dorado Landscape Co. (1989) 208 Cal.App.3d 993, 1006. Furthermore, the damages that might be awarded to her family in a wrongful death case after her passing would be limited in comparison to the potential damages in a personal injury case in which she prevailed. Ms. Echeverria’s counsel also made clear that they would collaborate with the Defendant’s counsel to conduct fair and essential discovery before trial if the motion is granted.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed ovarian cancer after the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Talcum Powder for hygienic purposes. If this happened to you, please request a free consultation on our Talcum Powder Lawsuit page or you may choose to call the Miller Firm at 1-800-882-2525.
