Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Cases Find Success
On May 2, 2016 a jury in Missouri awarded $55 million to a 62-year-old South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder in the second such trial loss this year. In February, J&J lost a $72 million verdict in the another St. Louis trial to the family of a woman who died of the disease.
Professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law, interviewed by Bloomberg News, stated: “The more talc verdicts that come down against them adds to the public’s growing distrust of their baby powder, which is one of their iconic products.There are both economic and reputation issues that may motivate them to start thinking about a global settlement of these cases.”
In the Missouri case jurors awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages to Gloria Ristesund, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after using J&J’s talc-based feminine hygiene products for almost 40 years. The company will appeal the verdict, Carol Goodrich, a J&J spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg News.
David Randolph Smith & Associates noted the potential for product liability and significant damages related to talcum powder ovarian cancer in a 2014 Law Blog post. In that post, we noted that the plaintiff developed talcum powder ovarian cancer as a result of her routine and prolonged use of talc baby powder products for perineal dusting.
David Randolph Smith & Associates offers free case evaluation for persons who mother, wife, or other family member has suffered from ovarian cancer and has a history of using talcum powder. If you need legal advice from a Tennessee talc or talcum powder attorney or Nashville ovarian cancer attorney with your questions about product liability for talcum powder ovarian cancer Click here to contact us for a confidential case review.