Last week, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) faced yet another defeat from a talcum powder lawsuit. The jury awarded Gloria Ristesund $55 million in damages, $50 million of which are punitive.
Ristesund sued the pharmaceutical company, alleging that the talc in its powder products caused her ovarian cancer. She had used J&J’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower powder as feminine hygiene products for many years. Although Ristesund’s cancer is currently in remission, she has undergone multiple surgeries, including a hysterectomy.
The Talcum Powder Lawsuit Loss Is J&J’s Second This Year
Ristesund’s case is the second financial award ever given by a jury in a talcum powder lawsuit against J&J. In February, the pharma giant suffered its first-ever financial loss from another ovarian suit. In that case, J&J was ordered to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who had died of ovarian cancer before her suit was settled.
J&J said in a statement to Bloomberg that “the jury’s decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world.’’
J&J Internal Memo Calls the Cancer Link “Obvious”
Unfortunately, the pharma company’s defensive stance contradicts one of the key pieces of evidence used against it – an internal memo from 1997 which said that denying a link to ovarian cancer would be “denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary.” The jurors apparently agreed. Other documents presented at trial suggest J&J has been aware of the potential health risks of talc since the 1970s.
One of the jurors in Ristesund’s case told the press, “We felt like they knew for decades that they should have put a warning on this product.”
Doctors Say Cancer Data Is Unclear
Doctors and researchers are less sure, with the World Health Organization categorizing talcum powder as “possibly carcinogenic” to humans, while the American Cancer Society says that research is inconclusive so far.
J&J Faces Dozens More Talcum Powder Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson had lost a previous talcum powder lawsuit in 2013, but the suing plaintiff was denied any financial award. The two largely punitive awards handed down so far in 2016 may establish a precedent for future juries since J&J faces dozens more lawsuits over the controversial ingredient. Jere Beasley, an attorney for Ristesund, said that his firm is reviewing over 5,000 more potential claims.
The trial for another talcum powder lawsuit involving J&J starts in September.
For more information about the cancer concerns brought to light by the recent talcum powder lawsuits, read about the most common household talcum powder products.
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