Minnesota Talcum Powder Lawsuit Filed On Oct. 11
A new Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit was filed in Minnesota alleging the health care company marketed their talcum powder products while aware of their cancer causing properties.
Thursday, October 13, 2016 - The latest talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit was filed on October 11 in Minnesota, where a man claims Johnson & Johnson contributed to his wife's contraction of ovarian cancer and eventual death. The claim is similar to more than 1,200 talcum powder lawsuits currently pending across the country against Johnson & Johnson, which has maintained their products are not linked to ovarian cancer. Baby powder attorneys however have discovered more than 20 medical studies supporting the plaintiffs' claims.
The most recent Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit filed in Minnesota was filed by Edward Spenny on behalf of his wife Gladys Spenny. The claim states that Johnson & Johnson had been aware of the cancer causing properties associated with its baby powder products for decades and decided against affixing warning labels to the cosmetic. This in turn led to Gladys using the product for genital hygiene, the exact application that has been studied by medical teams around the globe and repeatedly found to increase the risk for ovarian cancer.
Mrs. Spenny was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and passed away in October of that same year. She had used Johnson & Johnson baby powder products for more than 50 years and was never alerted to the cascade of studies that had been conducted into their ability to increase the risk of ovarian cancer for women. The studies first began in the 1970s, and Mr. Spenny alleges that the health care company either should have or did know about their findings over the decades that followed and warned their consumer base to the dangers their talcum powder products could pose.
Instead, Johnson & Johnson continued to market those products as safe for maintaining genital hygiene for women, and even encouraged their daily use in messaging attached to the product. The company has maintains it has relied on its own studies that demonstrate there is no association between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, though juries thus far have not bought their arguments yet.
Two talcum powder cancer lawsuit trials have taken place in 2016, with both resulting in strong wins for the plaintiffs. The first, which concluded in February, awarded $72 million to the plaintiff, and a second that ended in May bestowed $55 to the woman who brought the charge. There is currently a third trial underway that could potentially accelerate the build up to a settlement if a similar award is given to the plaintiff. All of these trials have taken place at the City of St. Louis Circuit Court.
There is a possibility that the Minnesota talcum powder lawsuit could be headed toward multidistrict litigation as the JPML recently decided to transfer nationwide Johnson & Johnson baby powder litigation into an MDL in New Jersey. That decision was took place a week ago, so it is still unknown which cases will join the initial actions in the transfer as tag-along cases going forward. For now the talcum powder lawyers representing Mr. Spenny will proceed with the lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
OnderLaw, LLC -