Talcum Powder Lawsuit Trial Postponed

A baby powder attorney representing the plaintiff in the claim fell ill on the first day of proceedings, delaying the trial.

Sunday, March 12, 2017 - The talcum powder cancer lawsuit trial that was set to take place in St. Louis has been postponed after an attorney representing from the plaintiffs fell ill. The talcum powder lawyer, Allen Smith, was unable to continue roughly five minutes into the beginning of his opening statement to the court. The trial is the fourth one including a Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit since the beginning of 2016, all of which have been head before the City of St. Louis Circuit Court.

The judge overseeing the trial has ordered that a new jury be selected as the event that took place with Mr. Smith will unfairly affect the judgment of those who were there for the episode. The new trial is expected to begin in February. Mr. Smith nor any spokesman for him were able to elaborate on his condition or the severity of it, though it is not considered to be life threatening.

The Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder cancer lawsuits center on the allegations that the health care company misled consumers regarding the carcinogenic properties of teir baby powder products. The claims allege that the company had been aware of reports linking its products to cancer for decades and never affixed a warning label to the merchandise warning of the potential health risks.

Three of those talcum powder cancer lawsuits made it to trial in 2016, with the plaintiffs winning each to the tune of $195 million in damages. These three successive victories set the current narrative that Johnson & Johnson is facing an uphill battle when it comes to the courtroom battles regarding plaintiffs and their talcum powder lawyers.

The latest claim has brought many of the same arguments and pieces of evidence to back up allegations that the plaintiff contracted ovarian cancer as a result of using Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products for female genital hygiene. The more than two dozen medical studies were also included in the filing, which had been expected to be resolved in February. Currently, it is more likely that the trial will reach its conclusion at the end of the month or potentially finish in March.

Mr. Smith, the baby powder ovarian cancer attorney who collapsed during his opening statement, is widely recognized as one of the most successful talcum powder lawyers. He was at the helm of the plaintiff's claims in all three of the 2016 talcum powder lawsuits that generated hundreds of million of dollars in damages. It is unknown whether his loss will be temporary, or if he will not be available for the eventual trial.

There are more than 2,000 talcum powder lawsuits currently pending nationwide. Most of these carry similar claims against Johnson & Johnson, and a large portion of them were transferred into multidistrict litigation by the JPML. Those federal claims have been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The lawsuit that is waiting to stand trial in St. Louis currently is a federal suit, and its outcome will have a significant bearing on the claims currently in the MDL.

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