Jury says – Johnson & Johnson must pay $417 million in talcum powder lawsuit case

August 22, 2017 — San Diego, CA.  This case is the third court defeat for Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder product, and more may be lined up.

Eva Echeverria, who is a 63-year-old woman from Los Angeles, has been awarded a massive settlement from Johnson & Johnson for her lifelong use of talcum powder.  She will receive a whopping $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages. Johnson & Johnson in a prepared statement said it will begin the appeals process in the California case.

Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson representative made this statement: “Ovarian cancer is a devastating diagnosis and we deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by this disease.”

She started using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products since she was 11 years old. She decided to stop using the products in 2016 after reading news reports about others who used it and had developed a dangerous form of ovarian cancer.

At National Injury Attorneys, LLC, we’ve been warning women of the potential for getting ovarian cancer on our talcum powder lawsuit page here.

Other Talcum Powder Lawsuit Verdicts against Johnson & Johnson.

On the page described above, we highlighted a past talcum powder lawsuit verdict that awarded Gloria Ristesund, 62, was awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

The verdict came after a four-week trial and one day of deliberations. Jurors found J&J liable for product liability claims but not conspiracy claims leveled against it in the lawsuit.

In February 2016 another jury in St Louis, awarded the family of Jackie Fox $72 million in damages. Jackie died at 62, two years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She used the product for close to 50 years.

There are hundreds of these cases lined up in California and thousands more across the U.S., yet to be deliberated on. This case may lead to more victims getting the compensation they deserve from Johnson & Johnson.

Johnson & Johnson Failed to Warn Consumers.

The bases for most of these talcum powder lawsuits are easy:  Failure to warn consumers about the possible link to cancer from their entire line of talcum powder products. In this latest court victory Echeverria testified that had there been a warning label on the product, she would have stopped using it.

FDA says Talcum Powder is Not a Drug –Thus no FDA Review for Safety.

Here’s the FDA view:  Talcum powder is legally considered simply a cosmetic product, and therefore doesn’t need to be reviewed by the FDA.   According to the agency, the product “must be safe for use by consumers under labeled or customary conditions of use.”

Case-controlled studies show ovarian cancer risk.

Nearly two dozen case-controlled studies have shown an increased risk for ovarian cancer after using talc-based products on the genitals.

A review of those 23 case-controlled studies concluded the use of talc increased ovarian cancer risk between 30 and 60 percent. The review, published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer in May 2015 by R. Ness said the “elimination of talc use could protect more than one-quarter or more of women who develop ovarian cancer.”

An analysis published in 2014 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by Houghton et al. criticized the findings of case-controlled studies. The review said participants may be susceptible to recall bias — overestimating their previous use of talcum powder because they have already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

The analysis suggested prospective cohort studies would eliminate potential recall bias, and evaluated the only two cohort studies published to date: the Nurse’s Health Study and the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study.

The Women’s Health Initiative study did not find an increased risk for ovarian cancer after using talcum powder. The Nurse’s Health Study also did not find an increased risk except for one specific type of ovarian cancer.

The study found a 40 percent increased risk for serous invasive ovarian cancer. Serous ovarian cancer is one of the most common forms of ovarian cancer. In the Nurse’s Health study, serous invasive ovarian cancer comprised 86 percent of serous ovarian cancers in the cohort.

I used talcum powder for feminine hygiene and I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Can I file a lawsuit?

If you or someone you love used talcum powder or Shower to Shower for feminine care and were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, you may be entitled to compensation. With some lawsuits already being decided, it is imperative that you act now.

The attorneys at National Injury Attorneys, LLC have been holding companies like Johnson & Johnson responsible for pain and suffering they’ve caused consumers for decades. Call the National Injury Attorneys, LLC today at 1-800-214-1010 for a free initial consultation or use the form on the right-hand side of the page.