Talcum Powder and Cancer

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.

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.

Sixth Talcum Powder Asbestos Cancer Trial Against J&J Set to Begin in California

December 20, 2018 | by Throneberry Law Group

The sixth talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is set for trial in a matter of days and will take place in a California state court to determine whether or not the company is liable for the victim’s injuries. The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit also names cosmetics company Chanel and talc supplier Imerys Talc USA as defendants for also producing carcinogenic products the plaintiff claims contributed to her terminal cancer diagnosis.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the plaintiff developed mesothelioma as a result of years of asbestos exposure from using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, along with Chanel’s No. 5 After Bath Powder. The lawsuit claims both the companies’ products were manufactured with talc supplied from Imerys, which the parties knew to be contaminated with asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson faces thousands of other lawsuit across the country in which plaintiffs allege their serious medical conditions, including mesothelioma and other cancers, were caused by talc-based products produced by the company. The talcum powder cancer lawsuits claim Johnson & Johnson and its supplier were fully aware of the dangers posed by its talcum powder products but did not put any warning labels on packaging to alert consumers to the dangers.

Johnson & Johnson Faces Three More Talcum Powder Asbestos Cancer Trials

October 11, 2018 | by Throneberry Law Group

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson is facing three more asbestos cancer lawsuit trials across the country over allegations that the company’s talcum-based products caused various types of cancers developed by the plaintiffs. Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier, Imerys Talc USA, have recently lost a series of trials in which juries handed down substantial verdicts in favor of plaintiffs to compensate the victims for their mesothelioma cancer diagnoses.

In California, attorneys for both sides will soon give their closing arguments in an asbestos talcum powder cancer trial in a Los Angeles Superior Court room. In that case, the plaintiffs represent the estate of the cancer victim who allegedly passed away from a mesothelioma diagnosis brought on by years of using talcum powder products produced by Johnson & Johnson and sourced with materials from Imerys.

In South Carolina, Johnson & Johnson will soon give its opening statements in a talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit and will do the same a week later in a Middlesex County Superior Court in New Jersey. Those two upcoming trials also allege that Johnson & Johnson and talc supplier Imerys Talc USA knowingly produced and sold talcum powder products contaminated with asbestos fibers.

Colgate-Palmolive Settles Talcum Powder Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit

September 26, 2018 | by Throneberry Law Group

Personal care products company Colgate-Palmolive recently reached a settlement with a California man in a talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit on the verge of trial in state Superior Court. The terms of the settlement were not released in the case of the now 67-year-old man who claimed he developed his disease as a result of years of using talc-based products developed and sold by the defendant, which formerly did business as the Mennen Co. The two-sides resolved the case during a lunch break after spending several days selecting a jury for trial.

According to the mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the plaintiff developed his mesothelioma cancer after decades of using asbestos-contaminated talcum powder products marketed by Colgate-Palmolive and Menen Co. The plaintiff claimed the defendant knew fully well about the asbestos contained in its Mennen Baby Powder but did nothing to warn consumers about the risks associated with exposure to the deadly carcinogen.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer directly linked to asbestos exposure. The disease can take several decades to show symptoms, known as the latency period, and commonly affects the thin linings of tissue surrounding vital organs like the lungs, abdomen, and heart. Due to the long latency period, mesothelioma patients often have diminished treatment options which can complicate the prognosis of their condition. While research continues on searching for a cure for the disease, none exists at this time.

Asbestos Talcum Powder Lawsuit Goes to Trial in South Carolina

June 19, 2018 | by Throneberry Law Group

The trial in an asbestos cancer lawsuit recently began in South Carolina, pitting the survivors of a mesothelioma patient against Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the outlet of Rite Aid. The trial begins on the heels of a substantial multi-million dollar verdict handed down by a New Jersey jury last month in a case brought by another mesothelioma victim who claimed that use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products resulted in a mesothelioma diagnosis.

According to the talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in Darlington County Court of Common Pleas, the 30-year-old victim passed away from a very rare form of cancer after using Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products for decades sold by Rite Aid. In addition to filing suit against Johnson & Johnson for marketing the product and Rite Aid for distributing it, the plaintiffs filed suit against Imerys Talc, which supplied the key ingredients used.

The plaintiff’s surviving family members, who filed the claim on her behalf, claim the victim used Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products nearly every day of her life and that these products were contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos and talc are naturally occuring minerals often found in deposits side by side with each other, and the former is directly associated with developing mesothelioma and other deadly diseases.

California Jurors Find Johnson & Johnson Acted with Malice in Asbestos Talcum Powder Lawsuit

June 16, 2018 | by Throneberry Law Group

A California jury recently awarded a plaintiff $4 million in punitive damages after determining that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson acted with malice when it produced and sold talcum powder products contaminated with deadly asbestos fibers. The punitive damages award comes just days after the same jury handed down a substantial $21.7 million in compensatory damages in a case which is Johnson & Johnson’s second trial loss in as many months.

The 68-year-old plaintiff in the case claimed she developed mesothelioma cancer as a result of decades of using talc-based products sold by Johnson & Johnson. While Johnson & Johnson has denied any liability in the case, the company faces thousands of other lawsuits across the country brought by victims claiming they developed mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and other cancers after using talcum powder products.

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that commonly affects the thin linings of tissue surrounding vital organs like the lungs, abdomen, and heart. Due to the latency period of the disease, many asbestos cancer victims do not show symptoms for 20 to 50 years, which leaves them with diminished treatment options. Even though medical science continues to make progress every day with treatments, there is still no definitive cure for a mesothelioma diagnosis.