High Court Finds That Small Amounts of Asbestos Do Not Necessarily Cause Mesothelioma
The New York Court of Appeals finding makes the amount of asbestos found in talc more important than its mere presence and could aid in JNJ's appeal efforts
Monday, June 24, 2019 - Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson have filed appeals to have the jury verdicts overturned in several cases over the last two years. Plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson claim that Johnson's Baby Powder is contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogenic and that the company knew about this for decades and did nothing to warn consumers. The central figure in most of JNJ's appeals is expert witness Dr. William Longo, a Georgia-based microscope researcher, who has testified that his method of examining talc has uncovered particles of asbestos. Dr. Longo is being accused of giving "demonstrably false testimony" about the source of the talc he tested and that two additional plaintiff expert witness relied on Dr. Longo's findings. Dr. Longo's credibility was also put into doubt as the scientist has earned over $30 million to date testifying that Johnson's Baby Powder contains asbestos. and that Longo did not find asbestos in any talc samples prior to being hired as a plaintiff's expert witness in 2017. Johnson & Johnson is accusing Dr. Longo of misleading the court, a serious charge.
Attorneys for plaintiffs counter that Johnson & Johnson has had full access to all talc samples that Longo used in his tests but have chosen not to do so. National Talcum powder cancer lawyers are helping families and individuals with a no obligation free consultation before filing a lawsuit claim.
In addition to the character assassination being leveled by JNJ, the importance of the results of Dr. Longo's unique testing methods is also being questioned. The plaintiff's expert uses the liquid separation method of finding relatively small amounts of asbestos in talc samples and the plaintiffs claim that even the smallest amount of asbestos can contribute substantially to developing mesothelioma. Recently, however, a New York high court rejects a plaintiff's claim that any amount of asbestos at all causes cancer:
"The Court of Appeals, the state's (New York) highest court, affirmed a 2017 Appellate Division decision that rejected a theory that every exposure to asbestos - no matter how small - is a substantial factor in asbestos-caused diseases like mesothelioma."
The decision came during a trial where a Ford Auto worker claimed he was exposed to asbestos while building motor vehicles. The court's decision is in conflict with other scientific authorities on the subject. The Asbestos Network claims "there is no "safe" level of asbestos exposure. Asbestos can cause cancer and chronic respiratory diseases after any asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested. Generally, these diseases take a long time to develop after exposure, with symptoms appearing anywhere between 10 to 80 years later." Cancer.org confirms that even a small amount of asbestos increases the risk of developing mesothelioma yet stresses that most cases of mesothelioma have occurred in people with occupational exposure to the mineral over long periods of time such as miners or those that worked around asbestos industrial materials.
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