New Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit Filed In Louisiana

A Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana accuses the health care company of failing to warn its consumers of the cancer risk associated with its cosmetic, as well as makes the suggestion that the nationwide litigation be combined into a class-action lawsuit.

Thursday, September 15, 2016 - A talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit filed in Louisiana on September 7 claims that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn consumers of the ties between its popular cosmetic and ovarian cancer. The allegation is like more than 1,000 made around the country, and the plaintiff in the most recent lawsuit filed her claim as the representative of a class of claimants affected by Johnson & Johnson's perceived negligence. Most baby powder lawsuits have not mentioned a class-action route for the litigation, though there is a multidistrict litigation motion to transfer currently filed before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML).

The Louisiana Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Shintelle Joseph, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006. She claims that she began to use baby powder regularly around her genital area when she was 17, and that at no time since then did she receive any information from Johnson & Johnson warning her of the medical research that had been done into the connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

This allegation is similar to hundreds of others around the country claiming that Johnson & Johnson was negligent in their handling of the ovarian cancer risk associated with their talcum powder products. With this in mind, Joseph offered her talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit as the representative for a potential class-action lawsuit that would combine similar claims together against Johnson & Johnson. Whether or not the class-action lawsuit is eventually certified is likely dependent on the JPML ruling on a pending motion to consolidate the talcum powder lawsuits into multidistrict litigation.

The hearing session during which talcum powder lawyers representing the plaintiffs and the defendants will make their arguments regarding multidistrict litigation and potential transfer destinations will take place on September 29. If certified by the JPML, the 11 lawsuits included in the motion to transfer will be consolidated in an MDL, along with additional Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuits around the country that will be eligible to join in the ensuing weeks and months.

If the talcum powder cancer lawsuits are consolidated into an MDL, they will remain individual lawsuits but be coordinated through a single federal court and judge to help pool the resources of baby powder attorneys around the country and offer more expedient proceedings. A class-action lawsuit on the other hand will combine all the included claims into a single lawsuit that will filed against the defendants in the case. There is a possibility of a lump sum settlement coming out of either scenario, but the differences are still substantial in the manner in which they will enter litigation and affect claimants around the country.

There are currently more than 1,200 talcum powder lawsuits pending around the country that will likely be impacted by either a class certification or a consolidation of federal suits into multidistrict litigation. Talcum powder lawyers will be following the potential for either possibility closely as the framing for how the lawsuits are presented in court will be dependent on the eventual outcome.

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