Two Doctors Struck From NJ Talcum Powder Lawsuit
Two expert witnesses were dismissed after their testimony regarding a talcum powder lawsuit was deemed inadmissible by a New Jersey judge.
Monday, November 7, 2016 - Two doctors were dismissed from serving as expert witnesses in a New Jersey talcum powder lawsuit after the judge found their testimony inadmissible in September. The decision led to two Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuits being dismissed by the court as the doctors were employed by the plaintiffs to meet the burden of proof necessary to bring charges against Johnson & Johnson. Talcum powder lawsuits in the state were consolidated into multicounty litigation roughly a year ago.
The doctors that were dismissed, Dr. Daniel Cramer and Dr. Graham Colditz, are both medical doctors, epidemiologists, and had experience with studies conducted into the connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. However the judge felt that the testimony they were due to give in court did not rely on a legitimate methodology and was at odds with data standards used in the scientific community. Though both doctors were able to demonstrate how links between talcum powder and ovarian cancer were studied and reported, neither could meet the court's standards for a causal relationship or a satisfyingly significant link between the disease and baby powder.
Talcum powder attorneys representing the plaintiffs balked at the court's decision and are currently appealing the ruling. There's a fear on their side that if the bar is set this high for plaintiffs bringing charges against Johnson & Johnson, it will be difficult to rely on the more than 20 medically researched studies finding a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer as evidence to back their claims. The plaintiff's talcum powder attorneys have said they are confident that the ruling will be overturned, and have received good news in the interim regarding the status of nationwide talcum powder lawsuit litigation.
Though the dismissal of the doctors threw a wrench in multicounty litigation in New Jersey where Johnson & Johnson is headquartered, the outcome of the ruling does not seem to have significantly influenced the overall direction of talcum powder ovarian cancer litigation nationwide. In St. Louis, a recent talcum powder lawsuit trial, which took place after the New Jersey witness ruling, found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded them nearly $70 million dollars in damages. This precedent stands to be far more impactful as it becomes the third Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuit trial to go against the defendants in 2016, and also the third to elicit 10-figure damages against the health care company.
More than 2,000 talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits are still pending against Johnson & Johnson, with most of these outside of the jurisdiction covered by the judge that dismissed the testimony from the two doctors. The next place talcum powder lawyers will likely be looking to measure the impact of the New Jersey dismissal will still be in the state, but at the federal level. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation recently consolidated federal lawsuits into an MDL before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and baby powder attorneys for Johnson & Johnson will likely try to dismiss expert witnesses in the claims coming before the judge again.
OnderLaw, LLC -