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Cosmetic Talc Litigation Media Coverage July 12, 2016
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Johnson & Johnson Defendants Ask Missouri Court to Stay Upcoming Trials Pending Appellate Review of Recent Talc Verdicts
| Harris Martin Publishing
The Johnson & Johnson defendants have asked a Missouri court to stay an upcoming September trial date, as well as all the scheduled 2017 talc trials, until an appellate court has weighed in on the cases ending in $72 and $55 million verdicts. -
Alton woman 1 among hundreds claiming talc caused cancer
Jul 11, 2016 | The Telegraph
By Sanford J. Schmidt
An Alton woman is one of more than 200 plaintiffs who have filed suit in Madison County, claiming talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer. -
Woman alleges powder use caused cancer
Jul 11, 2016 | Northern California Record
By Wadi Reformado
A consumer alleges her uterine cancer diagnosis is the result of using two particular brands of talcum powder.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
US Coverage
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| Harris Martin Publishing
The Johnson & Johnson defendants have asked a Missouri court to stay an upcoming September trial date, as well as all the scheduled 2017 talc trials, until an appellate court has weighed in on the cases ending in $72 and $55 million verdicts.
In the June 27 motion filed in the Missouri Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, the defendants maintained that there are “multiple key issues that lead to legal errors in the Fox and Ristesund cases and that these errors will warrant judgment in favor of Defendants or a new trial.”
The ...
Subscription required, for full story: http://harrismartin.com/article/21059/johnson-johnson-defendants-ask-missouri-court-to-stay-upcoming-trials-pending-appellate-review-of-recent-talc-verdicts/
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Alton woman 1 among hundreds claiming talc caused cancer
Jul 11, 2016 | The Telegraph
By Sanford J. Schmidt
An Alton woman is one of more than 200 plaintiffs who have filed suit in Madison County, claiming talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer.
Named are Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, Imerys Talc America Inc. and Luzenac America. Imerys is a company that produces talc. It recently acquired Luzenac, a firm that processes the substance.
The Alton plaintiff, Christine Harders, claims she applied talcum powder between 1982 and 2012, and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The suit alleges the product was unreasonably dangerous and defective,” and that the defendants have incurred medical expenses, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
The other plaintiffs are from all over the country and allegedly used talcum powder at various times, and all allegedly developed ovarian cancer.
Twice in the past three months, juries have awarded tens of millions of dollars to ovarian cancer victims who blamed Johnson & Johnson talcum powder for their illness — among the first verdicts in a gathering courtroom assault by law firms that are aggressively recruiting clients through television ads and the internet, according to the Associated Press.
While the link between ovarian cancer and talc is a matter of scientific dispute, a St. Louis jury in May ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $55 million to a South Dakota survivor of the disease. Another St. Louis jury awarded $72 million to relatives of an Alabama woman who died of ovarian cancer, the Associated Press reported. The company is appealing.
The lawsuits are among several hundred such suits claiming that regularly applying products like Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower to the genitals can cause the often-lethal cancer.
Both cases were handled by the Onder Law Firm, based in suburban St. Louis, one of the firms with ads running nationwide that urge cancer victims to come forward, according to the Associated Press.
Onder is one of the firms representing plaintiffs in the Madison County case.
The company said the jury awards are not convincing evidence that talc is, in fact, a carcinogen. A statement by Johnson & Johnson said there is ample evidence that talc is safe. It has been used for 30 years, according to Johnson & Johnson.
“At Johnson and Johnson Consumer Inc., our confidence in using talc is based on a long history of safe use and more than 30 years of research by independent researchers, scientific review boards and global regulatory authorities. Various agencies and governmental bodies have examined whether talc is a carcinogen, and none have concluded that it is. With over 100 years of use, few ingredients have the same demonstrated performance, mildness and safety profile as cosmetic talc,” the company formally stated in a news release.
Talc is a mineral mined from the earth. The suit claims that studies dated to 1971 and 1982 suggested an association between talc and ovarian cancer.
The Madison County suit claims a 1982 study involved use of talcum powder in the female genital are.
“This study was conducted by Dr. Daniel Cramer and others. This study found a 92 percent increased risk in ovarian cancer with women who reported genital talc use,” the suit claims.
Dr. Cramer allegedly suggested to a Johnson & Johnson doctor that the powder include a warning label, the suit also claims.
The suit alleges there have been 22 additional studies providing data about the association of talc and ovarian cancer. All of them have reported an elevated risk for ovarian cancer, the suit alleges.
The suit also claims Johnson & Johnson and other companies formed an association to provide information about the use of talc, but the association sought to “prevent regulation of talc and to create confusion to the consuming public about the true hazards of talc relative to ovarian cancer.”
A 2006 study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organization, found “limited evidence” of cancer caused by use of talc. “Limited evidence” means “a causal interpretation is considered …to be credible,” but chance, bias and confounding could not be ruled out with reasonable confidence.
The suit alleges that, despite the claims of doctors and studies, the firm continued to sell the product, failed to warn its customers and allegedly disseminated “false, misleading and biased information.” The plaintiffs and others suggest there are reasonable alternatives to talc, such as corn starch.
https://thetelegraph.com/news/85718/alton-woman-1-among-hundreds-claiming-talc-caused-cancer
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Woman alleges powder use caused cancer
Jul 11, 2016 | Northern California Record
By Wadi Reformado
A consumer alleges her uterine cancer diagnosis is the result of using two particular brands of talcum powder.
Dolores Gould filed a complaint on July 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Johnson & Johnson, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc. alleging that the New Jersey corporation failed to warn, strict liability, negligence and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2006, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer which she claims was the result of prolonged usage of the defendants' Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. The plaintiff holds Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc. responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to provide adequate warnings to consumers about the potential harmful effect of using talc in the genital area even after a study had already confirmed that it could cause cancer.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory damages of $75,000, economic damages, punitive and/or exemplary damages, interest, all legal fees and any other relief as the court deems just. She is represented by Ben F. Pierce Gore of Pratt & Associates in San Jose.
http://norcalrecord.com/stories/510957323-woman-alleges-powder-use-caused-cancer
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