Total Number Of Baby Powder Lawsuits In MDL At 99
The latest update from the JPML puts the total number of talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in the MDL at 99.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 - There are currently 99 talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits pending in the MDL based in New Jersey, an increase of 18 since the last report from the JPML was released in mid-December. The increase is not incredibly substantial compared to the more than 2,000 talcum powder lawsuits currently pending around the country. It is still a sign however that there is a continued increase in the amount of talcum powder lawsuits around the country, and that it will take real effort from Johnson & Johnson to stem the tide if they continue to lose major trials going forward.
The MDL was created in early October then the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted a motion to transfer filed by a talcum powder lawsuit plaintiff in July. A number of other plaintiffs joined in support of the MDL, as did Johnson & Johnson, which had their request for the transfer of the claims to be centralized in New Jersey. The JPMl eventually centralized the claims in New Jersey, claiming that it would serve as the most convenient location for all the parties involved. New Jersey is where Johnson & Johnson is headquartered, and also where a large concentration of talcum powder lawsuits are pending, though most of these are in multicounty litigation in Atlantic City.
The plaintiffs behind the 99 Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuits claim that the company marketed their talcum powder products as safe for consumers, knowing full well that there were more than 20 medical studies contradicting their claims that their products were safe. Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawyers have maintained that the company has been relying on its own research studies to corroborate its claims that talcum powder does not increase the risk of ovarian cancer, but the evidence on the other side has become overwhelming.
This has been exemplified by three juries finding in favor of plaintiffs in 2016 to the tune of $195 million. Johnson & Johnson has yet to win a trial involving talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, and the closest the talcum powder attorneys representing the plaintiffs have come to a win this year has been the dismissal of an expert witness in New Jersey multicounty litigation.
The MDL is expected to grow throughout 2017 as more lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country are transferred to New Jersey. There are currently no plans in the near future for bellwether trials to take place as the MDL is still young, but the plaintiffs involved in the MDL will be closely monitoring the latest talcum powder lawsuit trial set to begin in St. Louis in February. The lawsuit is taking place before the same court that levied the $195 million in damages against Johnson & Johnson in 2017. Some legal experts say too many more massive losses could result in a lump sum settlement for plaintiffs involved in the litigation. It remains to be seen how the upcoming baby powder lawsuit trial and the MDL will influence such action being taken by Johnson & Johnson.
OnderLaw, LLC -