Baby Powder Lawsuit Filed In Louisiana On August 1
The first talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in August, 2016 was filed by a man on behalf of his mother who passed away almost exactly a year ago.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - The first Johnson & Johnson's baby powder cancer lawsuit in August has been filed in Louisiana. The son of a woman who passed away from ovarian cancer has filed a claim on her behalf against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly failing to warn consumers of the cancer risk their talcum powder products pose. The lawsuit is the latest of more than 1,200 to be filed nationwide against Johnson & Johnson, with one plaintiff recently filing a motion to transfer before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate all the lawsuits inthe an MDL.
The Louisiana talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit, filed by Kenneth J. Baptiste on behalf of his mother Deiadria Baptiste, contains similar questions of fact with the hundreds that have already been filed against Johnson around the country. Baptiste claims that his mother, a regular user of talcum powder for most of her life, was never warned by Johnson & Johnson of the medically researched link the product held with a higher risk of contracting ovarian cancer. The baby powder attorneys working with plaintiffs around the country have compiled more than a dozen research studies that have found a correlation between genital talcum powder use by women and an increased risk of ovarian cancer, in some cases up to 33 percent.
The talcum powder lawsuit also claims that Johnson & Johnson were not only aware of these studies being conducted around the country, but had been warned by toxicologists working for the company that refraining from affixing a warning label to their products could result damage to consumer health and potentially legal problems in the future. The claims focus on the company's negligence to employ warning labels against the genital use of their talc products for women in light of the medical evidence and internal warnings, as well as other infractions such as breach of warranty and fraudulent concealment.
The talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit filed by Mr. Baptiste makes the claim that the baby powder products Ms. Baptiste used throughout her life led to the "direct and proximate" result of her contracting ovarian cancer. The diagnosis came in 2011, and Ms. Batiste passed away almost exactly a year ago on August 6, 2015. Before her passing, Ms. Baptiste had to endure a total hysterectomy as a result of the cancer diagnosis. Her condition deteriorated over the last handful of years, before she finally passed at the age of 52.
The Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The court holds jurisdiction over the claim because complete diversity exists between the plaintiff and the defendant, meaning Johnson & Johnson is not headquartered in the same state or district where Ms. Baptiste filed the lawsuit. It also holds personal jurisdiction over Ms. Baptiste as a resident of the district and over Johnson & Johnson as a business which sells their products and conducts business within the district.
If transferred by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the talcum powder cancer lawsuit filed by Mr. Baptiste on behalf of his mother could eventually become part of a larger MDL, unlikely to be centralized in Louisiana. The Hearing Session that will determine the fate of the motion to transfer may not take place until 2017 however, so for the time being the Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawyers representing Mr. Baptiste will proceed before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
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