New Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit Filed In Ohio

A new Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit, submitted by the husband of a woman who died from ovarian cancer allegedly caused by the cosmetic, was filed on August 16 before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Monday, August 22, 2016 - A new talcum powder lawsuit was filed on August 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by the husband of a woman who passed away from ovarian cancer allegedly connected to her baby power use. The claim, like more than 1,200 currently pending against Johnson & Johnson, details the plaintiff's case against Johnson & Johnson by asserting that the company did not properly warn its consumers of the medically researched links between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

The plaintiff in the case, Patrick Barker, filed the Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit on behalf of his wife Carla Barker, who died from ovarian cancer in march of 2015. Mrs. Barker was just 48 at the time of her death. She had used talcum powder for most of her life, oftentimes genitally, a method which has commonly been used to determine a connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer in medical research. The baby powder lawsuit alleges that Mrs. Barker's diagnosis and eventually death were direct consequences of Johnson & Johnson failing to properly warn of the cancer risk associated with their talcum powder products.

Talcum powder attorneys working on the cases nationwide have compiled a sizable list of studies that have discovered a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. Many of these studies are listed in the Barker talcum powder lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. Beginning with the first known study that was conducted in 1971 by Dr. W. J. Henderson and his staff in Cardiff, Wales, the suit mentions the existence of 22 additional medical studies that have reported some form of association between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

The talcum powder cancer lawsuit filed by Mr. Barker also points to internal Johnson & Johnson correspondence that had been recovered in previous cases. The claim details a letter sent from the Cancer Prevention Coalition directly to the C.E.O. of Johnson & Johnson advising the removal of talcum powder products because of the presence of safer alternatives such as corn starch-based powders. In reaction to this letter, Johnson & Johnson neither removed their product, nor did they attach warning labels informing the public of the potential dangers their cosmetics could pose.

The Barker talcum powder lawsuit was filed in federal court, and therefore will be eligible to join multidistrict litigation if a pending motion to transfer is consolidated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML). The JPML received the motion to transfer federal Johnson & Johnson baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuits into an MDL on July 15 and will hear arguments from both plaintiffs and the defendants during an upcoming hearing session on September 29 in Washington D.C.

A number of plaintiffs have supported the motion to transfer the litigation into an MDL. Johnson & Johnson has also responded in support of the transfer of the proceedings, though have requested they be centralized in their home state of New Jersey instead of Illinois as the original motion to transfer requested. The decision on if and potentially where the talcum powder cancer lawsuits will be consolidated will likely come within a month of the hearing session.

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