Johnson's Baby Powder Cleared of Cancer Claim

Johnson & Johnson has successfully defended Johnson's Baby Powder against claims that it caused a woman's cancer by implying her cancer may have come from other sources

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - A New Jersey jury has recently and unanimously found that Johnson's Baby Powder was not responsible for causing the plaintiff's cancer. The ruling was in favor of the company that was defending against the claim that Johnson's Baby Powder contains asbestos, a known carcinogen responsible for the plaintiff's cancer. The trial is the first win for Johnson & Johnson after two consecutive mistrials, several multi-million dollar verdicts, and one $billion dollar verdict. The trial was held in New Jersey where Johnson & Johnson is the largest employer. The jury rejected the plaintiff's claim that the company sold baby powder for decades with the knowledge that the company's talc supply was contaminated by asbestos, a known cancer-causing agent.

According to Bloomberg.com "The latest jury's finding "is consistent with decades of clinical evidence and scientific studies by medical experts" confirming J&J's baby powder doesn't contain asbestos, said Kim Montagnino, a company spokeswoman. J&J's win "is a signal plaintiffs will have a tough time proving causation" going forward in the litigation over mesothelioma and ovarian cancer cases tied to the baby powder, Holly Forum, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in an emailed statement."

Over 10,000 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson have been filed in the wake of the enormous jury verdict in July of 2018 that awarded 22 women a total of $4.69 billion dollars and found that the company's talc contains asbestos that contributed to the women's ovarian cancer. Prior to the defendant's win and the two mistrials a New Jersey jury had found in favor of the plaintiff, a man claiming that inhaling Johnson's Baby Powder fumes regularly for his entire life contributed to his developing lung cancer. Johnson & Johnson is accused of knowing not only that their talc supply could be contaminated with asbestos but also knew that talc in and of itself causes cancer and failed to warn consumers.

It should be noted that the recent verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson did not so much clear the company's talc of the asbestos contamination accusation as it did to argue that the plaintiff's cancer most likely was caused by other factors. According to Bloomberg, the plaintiff " was exposed to asbestos in her workplace and that her cancer was caused by exposure to radiation during thyroid-cancer treatments." Previous plaintiffs have brought forth expert witnesses that have claimed to have conducted studies that found particles of asbestos in the company's talc supply. Even JNJ's talc supplier, Imreys Inc. fearing a multi-million dollar punitive jury award, settled the previous two lawsuits for tens of millions before letting the jury decide. Other successful trials against Johnson's Baby Powder have revealed internal company memos going back decades where executives contemplated the company's potential liability from future asbestos-related lawsuits. Baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit attorneys answer questions in regards to Talcum powder lawsuit cases.

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