Baby Powder Lawsuit Triggers Consumer Rights Group

The Foundation For Consumers called for warning labels to be affixed to all Johnson & Johnson baby powder products following the $72 million award won by a plaintiff in February who filed a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit against the health care company.

Monday, April 25, 2016 - The consumer rights organization Foundation For Consumers announced that it is hoping for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase their efforts to apply warning label to all Johnson & Johnson baby powder products following a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit in February that stuck the health care company with a $72 million penalty. The group claims that any products that contain talcum powder should also warn consumers of the potential dangers the products have been tied to after multiple research studies connected the regular genital application of talcum powder with an increase in the risk for ovarian cancer.

The Foundation For Consumers called on the FDA to step up their involvement in the application of warning labels following the most recent Johnson & Johnson's baby powder cancer lawsuit to finish trial proceedings, which took place in February. The plaintiff Jacqueline Fox, who died months before the trial began, claimed in her talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit that Johnson & Johnson had been aware of the medical research being done that connected their baby powder products to ovarian cancer and still elected against affixing a warning label to the products. This was allegedly done to protect the marketability of their talcum powder products, even if they were aware that consumers using the company's baby powder may be put at a higher risk of ovarian cancer.

The jury sided with the plaintiff, awarding her $10 million in compensatory damages and hitting Johnson & Johnson with $62 million in punitive damages. It was the first time a baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit had won damages from a jury, which caught the eye of news outlets worldwide following the case. The Foundation For Consumers was following the development of the case and after the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff the group called for the FDA to use their influence to have a warning label placed on Johnson & Johnson baby powder products to alert consumers to the ovarian cancer connection.

The FDA has not been especially involved in any of the proceedings or evidence presented by Johnson & Johnson's baby powder ovarian cancer lawyers in the talcum powder trials that have taken place thus far. The agency tends to stay on the sidelines in terms of regulating cosmetic goods, a designation they assign to talcum powder. However, the FDA can take official stances and send warnings to companies that knowingly produce and sell dangerous products to the American consumer base. The Foundation For Consumers is hoping for this kind of action from the FDA to come following the February talcum powder cancer lawsuit trial that resulted in the enormous damages found against Johnson & Johnson.

Currently, the FDA claims that ovarian cancer and talcum powder may be linked, but that there is not enough evidence for the agency to take a definitive stance on the subject. There are currently more than 1,200 talcum powder lawsuits filed around the country, with that number growing in the wake of the February trial results. A second baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit trial at the City of St. Louis Circuit Court, the same courthouse where the $72 million in damages were assessed, began in mid-April with litigation currently ongoing.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.