Jury No. 2 finds for plaintiff in J&J case
Print Edition
FOR the second time in three months, a jury in St Louis has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a huge award over claims that its talcum powder causes cancer.
The jury deliberated for eight hours on Monday before ordering the company to pay US$55 million to a South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on years of talcum powder use.
In February, another St Louis jury awarded US$72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer, which she said was caused by using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and other talcum products.
New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson is to appeal the latest ruling.
“Unfortunately, the jury’s decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,” Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a statement.
“For over 100 years, Johnson & Johnson has provided consumers with a safe choice for cosmetic powder products and we will continue to work hard to exceed consumer expectations and evolving product preferences.”
But Jim Onder, attorney for the plaintiff, Gloria Ristesund, said researchers began linking talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s, and he said internal documents showed the company was aware of those studies.
“The evidence is real clear that Johnson & Johnson has known about the dangers associated with talcum powder for over 30 years,” Onder said. “Instead of giving a warning, what they did was targeted the groups most at risk for developing ovarian cancer,” specifically overweight women, he said.
Talc is naturally occurring, mined from the soil and composed of magnesium, silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It’s widely used in cosmetics and personal care products, such as talcum powder, to absorb moisture and prevent caking.
The February case involved the family of Jackie Fox of Birmingham, Alabama. Her son took over as plaintiff after his mother’s death in October at the age of 62.
Johnson & Johnson is facing at least 1,200 talcum powder lawsuits, including about 1,000 in St Louis, Onder said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
