Asbestos Containing Materials

California Plaintiffs Refile Talcum Powder Asbestos Lawsuit to Include Additional Defendants

January 18, 2020 | by Throneberry Law Group

A group of seven California plaintiffs recently signaled their intention to a federal court to refile their talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit against pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson in order to include additional defendants who may be at fault for causing their asbestos-related conditions. The federal district court judge hearing the case granted plaintiffs their motion to dismiss the case and include plaintiffs such as Claire’s and Valeant Pharmaceuticals over those companies’ negligence for not placing appropriate warning labels on their products.

The plaintiffs sought the request after the judge hearing the case disallowed the group to make any further amendments to the complaint originally filed only against Johnson & Johnson over claims that it negligently marketed its talc-based products such as Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. The plaintiffs originally filed their complaint in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claiming that the group developed serious, asbestos-related medical conditions as a result of using Johnson & Johnson’s talc products.

The judge hearing the case allowed the group to dismiss their claims, without prejudice, with the added condition that they pay for the legal fees incurred by Johnson & Johnson in the first iteration of the lawsuit. However, the judge cautioned Johnson & Johnson against “overlawyering” in an attempt to inflate the costs of the case as a retaliatory measure against the plaintiffs. The federal judge himself will decide the total amount of legal fees owed to Johnson & Johnson.

Hawaii Woman Files Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson

January 4, 2020 | by Throneberry Law Group

A Hawaii woman recently filed an asbestos cancer lawsuit against pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson and local grocer Foodland Supermarket Ltd. alleging that the defendants are responsible for her mesothelioma cancer diagnosis. The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit claims Johnson & Johnson knowingly produced and marketed talc-based products like Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, which the company knew were contaminated with deadly carcinogens but did not provide any warning to consumers on the label.

According to the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, filed in Honolulu Circuit Court, the 64-year-old plaintiff developed malignant mesothelioma after years of using asbestos-contaminated talcum powder products produced by Johnson & Johnson and sold by Foodland Supermarkets. The plaintiff, who is also an equine chiropractor, claims she frequently used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products in the course of her work caring for horses.

The asbestos talcum powder lawsuit filing comes less than a month after Johnson & Johnson issued a voluntary recall for certain lots of of its Baby Powder product after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that those certain lots of Baby Powder tested positive for cancerous asbestos fibers. While Johnson & Johnson claims subsequent testing showed no positive tests for asbestos, a Wall Street Journal report revealed flaws in the initial testing the company conducted after it appeared to rush those independent tests.

Talc Supplier Linked to Johnson & Johnson Cancer Lawsuits Considers Company Sale

December 21, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

The once long-time talc supplier for pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson is reportedly considering selling its North American operations, among other strategic alternatives to restructure the company after a difficult year in the courts. Earlier this year, Imerys Talc USA filed for bankruptcy under the weight of thousands of talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuits in which it was enjoined with Johnson & Johnson, many of which produced multimillion dollar verdicts in favor of the plaintiffs.

The Paris-based company plans to work with a group of investment bank advisors on its next moves, according to a Reuters report on the subject. Any sale or restructure of the company would likely need a federal court’s approval, as the company faces potentially billions of dollars in liabilities linked to the estimated 14,000 talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuits it faces with Johnson & Johnson.

2019 has been an especially difficult year for Imerys Talc USA. In February, Imerys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Delaware federal court, a few months after juries across the country handed down over $5 billion in total damages to plaintiffs who named Imerys Talc USA and Johnson & Johnson as defendants in asbestos cancer lawsuits. In May 2019, Imerys Talc USA temporarily closed a processing plant in New York state after detecting the presence of asbestos fibers in certain minerals processed at the facility.

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Talcum Powder Products Over Asbestos Contamination

December 1, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson recently recalled 33,000 bottles of one of its talc-based products after regulators discovered trace amounts of asbestos fibers in samples taken from a bottle of Baby Powder purchased online. This is the first time Johnson & Johnson has issued such a recall for its iconic Baby Powder product and coincides with the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced finding asbestos in the company’s talcum powder products.

The recall applied to one lot of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder produced and shipped in the United States back in 2018. On a recent call with reports, Johnson & Johnson’s head of Women’s Health in the company’s medical safety organization, called the asbestos finding “extremely unusual,” adding that it was “inconsistent with our testing to date.”

In its call with reporters, Johnson & Johnson stated that it received a report from the FDA on October 17 alerting the company about the asbestos contamination in the lot of Baby Powder tested and the company would begin an investigation into its manufacturing records. The company faces an estimated 14,000 lawsuits across the country in state and federal court over allegations Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products caused plaintiffs’ serious medical conditions.

New Talcum Powder Asbestos Cancer Trial Begins in California

November 11, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

A California state jury recently heard opening arguments in a new talcum powder asbestos cancer trial brought by a 48-year old woman who claims she developed her serious form of cancer after years of using talc-based products produced and marketed by the defendant. The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit claims pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson knew its talcum powder products were contaminated with asbestos fibers but provided no warning to consumers about the dangers associated with using its products.

Attorneys for the plaintiff told jurors that for decades, the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos fibers in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower and that was the cause of her developing mesothelioma cancer. Johnson & Johnson, on the other hand, maintained that despite the overwhelming evidence showing the company knew its products have tested positive for asbestos, those products are safe for consumers and not to blame for the plaintiff’s condition.

The trial comes just weeks after a Los Angeles jury handed down a substantial $40.3 million verdict to a plaintiff and her husband alleging the victim’s mesothelioma cancer was also caused by exposure to asbestos fibers in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder. That latest lawsuit is just one of many that together have produced over $5 billion in total compensation to dozens of plaintiffs across the country who claim their cancer diagnoses were due to asbestos exposure from decades of using Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products.

California Jury Awards $3 Million to Pipefitter in Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit

May 23, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

A Southern California jury recently awarded a former pipefitter and his wife $3 million in an asbestos cancer lawsuit brought against a contractor whom the plaintiff claims frequently exposed him to asbestos during the course of his employment. The mesothelioma lawsuit claimed that D.W. Nicholson Corp. exposed the plaintiff to asbestos while performing an estimated 100 contracting jobs at the Masonite Corp. in Ukiah, California.

According to the mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, D.W. Nicholson Corp. installed mechanical, electrical, and piping equipment at Masonite more than 100 times while the plaintiff worked at the site. The plaintiff alleged that D.W. Nicholson frequently exposed the victim to asbestos when the company failed to clean up asbestos-containing debris it left behind and provided no warning to Masonite workers about the risks of exposure.

As a result of years of asbestos exposure from 1964 to 1999, the plaintiff claimed he developed mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer which commonly affects the thin lining of tissue surrounding vital organs like the lungs, heart, and abdominal cavity. Asbestos exposure is directly linked to developing this rare type of cancer, often occurring through industrial exposure in the course of employment or sometimes secondhand when fibers are brought home on work clothing.

Court Allows Construction Worker’s Mesothelioma Lawsuit Against Boiler Company to Continue

May 14, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

A New York City judge recently handed down an important ruling in a mesothelioma cancer lawsuit allowing the plaintiff’s claim against a boiler company to continue rebuffing the defendant’s legal maneuvers to have the case dismissed before it could be heard by a jury. Attorneys for defendant Kohler Co. asked the judge to throw out the case on summary judgement, claiming there was a similar case in New York’s asbestos courts, which barred the plaintiffs from suing the company.

The case was brought by a retired clean up crew worker who worked from 1958 to 1966 and was responsible for removing boiler parts manufactured by Kohler Co. after they had been disassembled. The plaintiff eventually developed mesothelioma and filed a lawsuit against Kohler Co., claiming that he frequently came in contact with frayed gaskets that contained asbestos. The plaintiff ultimately passed away after his battle with mesothelioma in 2016, leaving his estate to take up the claim in court.

In their mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that Kohler Co. should have known that maintenance companies would repair and replace boilers with parts manufactured with deadly asbestos fibers. In their motion for summary judgement, attorneys for the defendant pointed out that Kohler Co. did not manufacture the asbestos-laden parts itself and that the removal of parts after dismantling was not a foreseeable use of the product and that therefore the company owed no duty of care to anybody who was carrying parts away.

Jury Awards $25 Million in Mesothelioma Cancer Lawsuit

April 27, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

A California jury recently handed down a substantial award to a husband and wife who claim the man’s employer is responsible for his mesothelioma diagnosis developed while working at several of the defendant’s oil refineries over a two-decade period. The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit named Fluor Enterprises Inc., Middle East Fluor, the National Iranian Oil Company, and several other companies as defendants, claiming that the groups exposed the victim to carcinogens by using asbestos-laden products despite knowing of the risks to workers.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the plaintiff developed an especially rare form of testicular mesothelioma as a result of working with asbestos contaminated parts as part of his routine job duties on oil rigs. The plaintiffs claimed the defendants violated their own internal standards for safety in the process of completing those projects, cutting many corners and putting the victim and other workers at risk of asbestos exposure.

The Los Angeles jury ultimately sided with the plaintiffs, handing down a total of $25 million in compensatory damages to the couple. Of that award, $14 million was awarded to the husband for his past and future pain and suffering while the remaining $11 million went to the wife for her damages as a result of her spouse’s mesothelioma diagnosis. In apportioning liability to the defendants, the jury determined the Iranian National Oil Company to be 20% at fault and prescribed the remainder of the blame to the Flour companies.

Georgia Family Files Asbestos Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson After Losing Mother to Mesothelioma

April 7, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

A grieving Georgia family recently filed an asbestos talcum powder cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson after losing their mother to a battle with mesothelioma in 2017 that they claim was caused by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant’s negligence. The family’s lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its supplier, Imerys Talc USA, comes just shortly after a report by Reuters detailed a review of thousands of internal company documents showing that the defendants knew for decades about asbestos contamination in its talcum powder products.

According to the talcum powder mesothelioma lawsuit, the victim used talc-based products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and supplied by Imerys Talc USA that were contaminated with deadly asbestos fibers. Despite knowing full well about the presence of asbestos in its talcum powder products and the risks it could pose to consumers, the defendants declined to provide the public with any warnings on the product labels, according to the lawsuit.

The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit is another in an increasingly long list of claims filed against the company by defendants, mostly women, who developed ovarian cancer or mesothelioma as a result of using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products. Currently, there are an estimated 12,000 other talcum powder cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson pending in state and federal courts, with several slated for trial in 2019.

California Jury Hands Down $29 Million Verdict in Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit Trial

March 23, 2019 | by Throneberry Law Group

An Oakland, California jury recently handed down a substantial $29 million verdict in favor of a female plaintiff who claims she developed a serious form of cancer from carcinogens in talc-based products produced by the defendant, Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiff’s verdict is the latest defeat for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant, which is still reeling from several other awards handed down by juries last year totaling more than $5 billion in compensatory and punitive damages.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, the plaintiff developed mesothelioma as a result of years of exposure to asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder, which is made with talc sourced by Italy-based Imerys Talc USA. The talc supplier avoided any liability in the matter due to a recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing which Imerys claims is the result of the weight of talcum powder cancer lawsuits filed against it.

Although talc does not contain asbestos itself, the two are both naturally occurring minerals found in deposits side by side one another. If talc suppliers and manufacturers do not take reasonable precautions to separate talc from asbestos and conduct necessary testing, innocent consumers may be exposed to life threatening carcinogens.