J&J Slammed With $55 Million Verdict in Cancer Suit

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by a jury in Missouri to pay $55 million in damages to a woman who stated that the firm’s talcum powder products led to her ovarian cancer.

The verdict, which the company is going to appeal, is the second straight lawsuit for J&J. It currently faces 1200 or more lawsuits that accuse it of not providing enough warnings to consumers about the cancer risks of its products that contain talc.

After a 21 day trial in state court, the jury deliberated for about 24 hours before they came back with the verdict for the plaintiff. She received $5 million in damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

According to a spokeswoman for J&J, the verdict went against three decades of research that she said had shown that talcum powder is safe. She noted that the company is going to appeal the decision and will continue to promote the safety of J&J baby powder.

The plaintiff, Gloria Ristesund, said that she used J&J’s baby powder on her genitals for many years. Her lawyers stated that she was diagnosed in 2012 with ovarian cancer and had to have a hysterectomy and had to have several surgeries. She is now in remission.

The law firm that represents the plaintiff stated this week that their client is pleased with the decision and that the decision by the jury should be the end of the case.

This verdict comes after another jury in February in the same court awarded $72 million to the family of another woman who died from cancer after using talcum powder for years on her genitals.

Johnson & Johnson also is appealing that decision, which sparked a great deal of new interest in lawsuits about talcum powder. Many scientists have stated that there is inconclusive evidence about the safety of talcum powder for feminine hygiene purposes.

Many plaintiffs in talcum powder lawsuits, which mostly are occurring in New York and Missouri, accused the company for years for not providing warnings that talcum powder could lead to a higher risk of ovarian cancer.

After the original J&J decision a few years ago, the lawyers for that family were flooded with 17,000 calls and emails from those who wanted to file a lawsuit as well over baby powder. At this time, that law firm is studying about 2,000 of those cases and may bring suit in the future.

Another trial in the future could be one for Tenesha Farrar, who is a 40 year old black woman. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2013. Many of the plaintiffs in these cases are African American; this could be because of the J&J marketing campaign that attempts to get that group to increase spending on talcum powder for feminine hygiene.

Many black women have been taught since they were children to use talcum powder in their underwear to make sure that they smell fresh all day.

First Clinical Study on Baby Powder and Ovarian Cancer

The study that first found a possible link was done in 1982 by Brigham and Women’s Hospital doctor Daniel Cramer. Since that research was released in Cancer Journal, at least 20 more studies have found that there is a greater risk of ovarian by up to 30% for women who use baby powder on their genitals.

However, according to the American Cancer Society, there is limited evidence that talcum powder that does not contain asbestos causes cancer. Some animal studies have shown that baby powder may cause tumors but some studies have shown the opposite.

Generally the most reliable types of clinical studies do not use a woman’s memory to determine how often talcum powder over the years.

Some scientists do claim that there could be a link between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer, but it is difficult to prove if a certain person’s cancer was caused by one specific factor. In some cancers, such as lung, there are very clear causes that are well known, such as tobacco smoke. Whether baby powder has that sort of link is questionable.

Still, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has stated that genital use of baby powder could be a possible carcinogen to human beings. More information about filing a claim can be found here: http://www.talcumpowderlawsuits.org/