July 13, 2018 – San Diego, CA. It took over 8 hours of deliberations Thursday in St. Louis, for a jury to award a massive $4.69 billion dollar award to 22 women who had sued Johnson & Johnson for alleging its talcum baby powder products (Baby Powder & Shower to Shower brands) caused their ovarian cancer. There are close to 4,500 of these lawsuits currently being handled in various courts.
The breakdown of monies from this huge win for baby powder victims includes $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages.
Other Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuits.
This is by far the biggest award, but not the first talcum powder lawsuit that Johnson & Johnson has faced. Johnson & Johnson lost a second court battle over its talc-based products in a St. Louis courtroom last year. 
Eva Echeverria, who is a 63-year-old woman from Los Angeles, was awarded a 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.”
Echeverria 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.
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. 
Why didn’t the FDA recall or ban Talcum Powder?
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.”
Multiple Studies show talcum powder link to 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
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 Hood National Law Group have been holding companies like Johnson & Johnson responsible for pain and suffering they’ve caused consumers for decades. Call the Hood National Law Group today at 1-800-214-1010 for a free initial consultation or use the form on the bottom of the page.
