An expert panel formed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed asbestos testing standards for cosmetics that reject long-held industry positions and reflect those of public health authorities and experts for thousands of plaintiffs who allege contaminated talc products caused their cancers. The most significant recommendation [ … [Read more...]
Powder Keg: FDA bowed to industry for decades as alarms were sounded over talc
At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The “Asbestos in Talc Symposium,” sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration [ and intended to investigate asbestos in talc powders … [Read more...]
Recall: FDA Sees Trace Asbestos in J&J Baby Powder
A shipment of baby powder has been recalled by Johnson & Johnson after U.S. authorities found asbestos in it. The recall comes after months of denial from the company about the presence of the cancer-causing substance in its talc-based products, The New York Times reported [October 19, 2019]. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … [Read more...]
U.S. senator asks J&J for documents on talc, baby powder safety
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...]
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...]