What You Should Know about the Latest Talc Lawsuit

Many lawsuits are being brought against Johnson & Johnson based on the assertion that its talc powder causes ovarian cancer in women. Over 300 such lawsuits are pending in California, and over 4,500 nationwide. The lawsuits assert that Johnson & Johnson, a major healthcare product maker, ignored studies that linked its Shower to Shower and Baby Powder products to ovarian cancer.

The plaintiff is this case was diagnosed 10 years ago. Even though a tumor the size of a softball was removed, she is now at the end of her life. She was not able to attend the trial in person. Her testimony had to be recorded in a video-deposition. The woman said she used the company’s Baby Powder product beginning at age 11. She stopped when she read that another woman who used the product acquired the fatal disease. Ms. Eva Echeverria, the plaintiff, testified that she would not have used the product if there had been a warning label informing her of the danger of getting ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson’s slogan for its Baby Powder product is, “A sprinkle a day helps keep the odor away.” According to the Los Angeles Times, Johnson & Johnson made $16.5 billion in profit in 2016.

Outcome of the case

After two days of deliberating, jurors awarded Echeverria $70 million in compensatory damages. The punitive damage award was $347 million. Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal the decision.

The plaintiff’s lawyer claimed that Johnson & Johnson knew a long time earlier of the link between their products and ovarian cancer. They cited a 1982 study that showed women who used talc on their genitals had a 92% increased risk for getting ovarian cancer and that Johnson & Johnson was warned that its talc products should have a warning. Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common type of cancer in the United States, and fifth in cancers that cause death in women.

If you or someone you know has ovarian cancer and used Johnson & Johnson talc products, please contact the South Carolina product liability lawyers at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC. We have the resources and experience to prove complex product defect cases. To speak with our office, please phone us at 803-327-7800, or complete our contact form to schedule an appointment.

Read more:

• Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $417 Million to Ovarian Cancer Victim in Talc Case
• Johnson & Johnson’s Marketing of Talc Products to African-American and Latina Women
• Lawsuit Will Attempt to Conclusively Link Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder to Ovarian Cancer
• Everything You Need to Know about Johnson & Johnson’s Talc and the Link to Cancer
• Did Johnson & Johnson Market Their Talc Products Specifically to Minority Women?
• Johnson & Johnson’s Talc Cover-Up: A Policy Decades in the Making
• California Woman Awarded $70 Million from Johnson & Johnson for Cancer Causing Talc