New Talcum Powder Lawsuit Trial Begins Today
The second Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuit to be heard before the City of St. Louis Circuit Court will begin today, following the first trial that resulted in a $72 million award for the plaintiff in February.
Monday, April 11, 2016 - The first talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit to stand trial since a plaintiff was awarded $72 million before the same court in February will begin proceedings in St. Louis today. Like the first baby powder lawsuit to be heard before the City of St. Louis Circuit Court, this trial is expected to serve as a bellwether for future claims intending to litigate against Johnson & Johnson concerning their baby powder products. More than 1,000 Johnson & Johnson's baby powder cancer lawsuits around the country have been filed against the health care giant claiming that the company was aware of a scientifically investigated link between talcum powder and an increased risk in ovarian cancer, and that the company decided against affixing a warning label to the product.
The latest talcum powder cancer lawsuit will look into the claims brought by plaintiff Gloria Ristesund. Ristesund claims that she used Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products for 40 years, which led to her ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2011. Like most of the baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson, Ristesund claims that the company should have placed a warning label on their baby powder products alerting consumers to the ovarian cancer risk that had been associated with the product. The talcum powder cancer attorneys working on behalf of Ristesund will likely use a large amount of the evidence brought against Johnson & Johnson by the plaintiff that received the large February jury award, Jacqueline Fox.
The $72 million figure for Fox represented the first monetary damages awarded to a plaintiff that filed a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. The talcum powder cancer lawyers that represented Fox presented more than a dozen studies and internal Johnson & Johnson documents to prove that the company both was aware of the ovarian cancer risk associated with their talcum powder products and deliberately chose not to pass on that information to consumers. Juries have twice found Johnson & Johnson either responsible or negligent for their actions concerning their talcum powder products thus far, and if too many future trials come out in favor of the plaintiffs, Johnson & Johnson may consider a lump sum settlement to bring an end to the claims in lieu of risking big losses in individual trials.
The Johnson & Johnson's baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit filed by Ristesund will be the first to test the influence of the Fox verdict on future talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits. The Fox trial made international news, and many following the case suggested that it may hold a large amount of influence on the outcome of future talcum powder claims filed against Johnson & Johnson. Unlike the Fox baby powder cancer lawsuit, Ristesund will be alive for her trial and will be able to testify in person to the jury about her disease and the claims she is bringing against the healthcare company.
Most of the talcum powder lawsuits currently pending in the country are based in either St. Louis where the trial will be held, or in New Jersey where more than 100 lawsuits in Johnson & Johnson's home state are currently in multicounty litigation. There are an estimated 1,200 talcum powder lawsuits currently pending nationwide, with an expectation for that number to rise dramatically over the coming months in the wake of the damages awarded in the Fox talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit. It is unknown exactly how long the Ristesund trial will take, though the City of St. Louis Circuit Court proceedings for Fox's Johnson & Johnson's baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit took place over the course of roughly three weeks.
OnderLaw, LLC -