St. Louis Talcum Powder Lawsuit Verdict Awards Plaintiff $72 Million
The family of plaintiff Jacqueline Fox, represented by The Onder Law Firm, was awarded a $72 million talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit verdict against Johnson & Johnson following a City of St. Louis Circuit Court trial.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - The first talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit verdict that awarded damages to the plaintiff has done so in a big way, as jurists hearing a talc lawsuit in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court found in favor of the plaintiff to the tune of more than $70 million. 10 of the 12 jury members sided with the plaintiff Jacqueline Fox in their talcum powder cancer lawsuit verdict, who died in October from ovarian cancer she claimed had developed from her decades of using talcum powder. Backed by The Onder Law Firm, Fox successfully sued talcum powder manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which is named in more than 1,000 similar lawsuit nationwide. The plaintiff claimed the health care company knew of the scientific data supporting a link between talcum powder and an increased risk of contracting ovarian cancer and intentionally withheld the information from the public.
The $72 million award found in favor of the plaintiff is not only a huge win after a lengthy trial, but stands as the first talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit that has awarded damages. A previous jury that found in favor of the plaintiff in 2013 did not award any damages, compensatory or punitive. Both punitive and compensatory damages, $62 million and $10 million, respectively, were awarded to the plaintiff in St. Louis trial. The jury decision and amount awarded to Ms. Fox's family, who took up the case following her passing, is expected to serve as a significant bellwether trial and set a precedent for pending lawsuits with similar claims against J&J.
More than 1,000 lawsuits nationwide have been filed against Johnson & Johnson, which has repeatedly been accused of deceiving women by not releasing information it held concerning the connection its Shower to Shower and Baby Powder products had with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. During the trial, attorneys representing the plaintiff revealed internal &J documents that demonstrated the company had been aware of the ovarian cancer risk associated with their products and in response attempted to search out doctors that would corroborate its falsehood that talcum powder did not share a significant link to ovarian cancer. In response to this, the plaintiff's attorneys also presented ample evidence from the scientific community that time after time discovered a causal link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer for women who used the product regularly.
J&J did not only advise to use their talcum powder products regularly, but even advised that they be used daily with messaging affixed to the products. This is in stark contrast to the charges filed against J&J that claimed the company should have instead affixed warning labels to the products after discovering the carcinogenic properties of their talcum powder products.
The St. Louis jury heard all these arguments and eventually came to a talcum powder cancer lawsuit verdict in favor of the plaintiff, determining that the accusation against J&J claiming the company had deceived and irresponsibly neglected talcum powder consumers had been proven by the plaintiff's representation. The number of lawsuits against the health care company are now likely to skyrocket given the severe penalties handed down by the jury, and the precedent set by representatives for the plaintiff such as The Onder Law Firm that proved the accusations made against J&J were valid.
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