U.S. Democratic Senator Patty Murray sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday seeking information related to allegations in a Reuters Special Report that the healthcare company knew about the presence of asbestos in its talc-based baby powder. The letter addressed to J&J Chief Executive Alex Gorsky asks for documents and information … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson Settles Oklahoma Talc-Cancer Case
Johnson & Johnson reached a confidential settlement resolving an Oklahoma lawsuit alleging its iconic baby powder caused a 77-year-old woman to develop a rare cancer connected to asbestos exposure. The accord comes the same day the company was cleared by a New Jersey jury of a similar claim and two weeks after a jury in Oakland, California, … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson must pay dying woman $29 million over talc-linked cancer
Johnson & Johnson must pay about $29 million to a dying California woman who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for causing her cancer, the company’s latest loss in nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors in state court in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday held J&J responsible for Teresa Leavitt’s mesothelioma, a cancer linked to … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson supplier seeks bankruptcy over talc lawsuits
A key supplier of talc used in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder [ Imerys Talc America ] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on [ February 13, 2019 ] in the wake of multibillion-dollar lawsuits alleging its products caused ovarian cancer and asbestos-related mesothelioma. Imerys Talc America, the U.S. unit of French group Imerys SA, said it filed … [Read more...]
Talc-asbestos lawsuits to stay in Pa. courts because of corporate registration law
According to the ruling of a federal judge, Pennsylvania courts now have jurisdiction over [ talc-asbestos lawsuits ] because the defendant followed state law in registering to do business in the state. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Michael M. Baylson declared that Imerys Talc America, defendant … [Read more...]
Four J&J Talc Cases Moving to Trial in New York’s Oft-Maligned Asbestos Court
Four talcum powder suits against Johnson & Johnson are set to proceed this month to trial in the New York City Asbestos Litigation court, where plaintiffs attorneys may be able to wield a formidable weapon in the threat of punitive damages, a remedy that had been unavailable for more than two decades, but to which the door was opened last … [Read more...]
Association between mesothelioma and non-occupational asbestos exposure: systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: The risk of mesothelioma has been shown to be associated with exposure to asbestos fibers. Most of the existing literature focuses on occupational exposure; however, non-occupational asbestos exposure has also been identified as an important risk factor. Objective: To estimate the association between mesothelioma and … [Read more...]
J&J’s Risk From Tainted-Talc Lawsuits Only Gets Bigger in 2019
Johnson & Johnson paid a steep price this year for claims that its celebrated baby powder was contaminated with asbestos. Problem is, 2019 could be even worse. A jury ordered the company in July to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women who blamed the talc-based product for causing their ovarian cancer. The prospect of similar judgments helped erase … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
[ Darlene Coker ] knew that her [ mesothelioma cancer ] arose in the delicate membrane surrounding her lungs and other organs. She knew it was as rare as it was deadly, a signature of exposure to asbestos. And she knew it afflicted mostly men who inhaled asbestos dust in mines and industries such as shipbuilding that used the carcinogen before its … [Read more...]
New jury fails to reach verdict in J&J South Carolina talc cancer trial
A second South Carolina jury on [November 15, 2018] failed to reach a verdict in the retrial of a case by a woman whose family said her long-term use of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder led to her death from asbestos-related cancer. The case of Bertila Boyd-Bostic, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2017 at the age of 30, is the latest in a … [Read more...]