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Cosmetic Talc Litigation Media Coverage October 28, 2016
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J&J Loses Third Trial Over Cancer Link to Talcum Powder
Oct 28, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross
Johnson & Johnson lost a third straight trial over claims its talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer with a St. Louis jury awarding a California woman more than $70 million. -
Jury Awards $70M in Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Case
Oct 27, 2016 | KMOX-CBS
After hours of deliberation, a St. Louis jury has came to a verdict in the new Johnson and Johnson case. -
Jury awards more than $70M to California woman in baby powder lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | WHIO
By Bob D'Angelo
A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer, The Associated Press reported. -
Johnson & Johnson Hammered Again in Talc-Ovarian Cancer Verdict of $70 Million
Oct 27, 2016 | FairWarning
By Myron Levin
Health care products giant Johnson & Johnson suffered another big legal defeat late Wednesday, when a St. Louis jury ordered the company and its talc supplier to pay about $70 million in damages to a woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the use of talc powders for feminine hygiene. -
Woman Wins $70 Million In Baby Powder Lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | Immortal News
By Zye Angiwan
A California woman is due to receive over $70 million in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, after a St. Louis jury ruled in her favor Thursday. -
Woman wins £58m after claiming Johnson's baby powder gave her cancer
Oct 28, 2016 | Sky News
A woman has been awarded more than $70m (£58m) after alleging that using Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer. -
Talcum Powder Lawsuit: Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay $70M After Losing Third Trial
Oct 28, 2016 | International Business Times
By Suman Varandani
A California woman was awarded more than $70 million by a St. Louis judge in a verdict against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder's link with cancer. On Thursday, the company lost a third straight trial after three hours of deliberations. -
Woman gets £60million payout after claims talcum powder gave her ovarian cancer
Oct 28, 2016 | Express
By Indra Warnes
Johnson and Johnson has paid out £60 million in damages to a woman claiming its talcum powder gave her ovarian cancer. -
Jury awards cancer sufferer $70m following Johnson & Johnson lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | City A.M.
By Oliver Gill
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $70m ($57m) of damages by a US jury following allegations that prolonged use of its baby powder caused a ovarian cancer. -
Woman claiming baby powder gave her cancer awarded £57million
Oct 28, 2016 | Metro
By Tanveer Mann
A woman from California has been awarded $70,000,000 in a lawsuit after claiming that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) baby powder caused her to develop cancer. -
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday lost a third lawsuit over claims its baby talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer with a St. Louis jury awarding a California woman
Oct 28, 2016 | International Business Times, India Edition
By Pranshu Rathi
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday lost a third lawsuit over claims its baby talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer with a St. Louis jury awarding a California woman more than $70 million. Earlier two damage verdicts awarded against the company amounted to $72 million and $55 million. Both are being appealed.
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J&J Loses Third Trial Over Cancer Link to Talcum Powder
Oct 28, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross
Jurors return $70 million verdict after 3 hours deliberations
Company denies link between talcum powder use, ovarian cancer
Johnson & Johnson lost a third straight trial over claims its talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer with a St. Louis jury awarding a California woman more than $70 million.
J&J is accused in about 1,700 lawsuits in state and federal court of ignoring studies linking its baby powder and Shower-to-Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and failing to warn customers about the risk. Thursday’s verdict follows damages verdicts of $72 million and $55 million against the company this year in the first two talc claims to go to trial in St. Louis. Both are being appealed.
Deborah Giannecchini, 62, used J&J’s baby powder for feminine hygiene for more than four decades until her diagnosis with ovarian cancer three years ago, according to her lawyers. She has an 80 percent chance of dying in the next two years, and has undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, they said.
A J&J unit was ordered to pay $65 million in punitive damages and 90 percent of about $2.5 million for medical costs and pain and suffering. Co-defendant Imerys Talc America, the supplier of the talc, was hit with $2.5 million in punitive damages. Jurors returned the verdict after deliberating for about three hours.
The company should have provided a warning label on the product to let consumers decide whether to use talc, one juror Billie Ray, 76, of St. Louis, said after the trial. “It seemed like Johnson & Johnson didn’t pay attention,” she said. “It seemed like they didn’t care.”
Giannecchini appeared overwhelmed by the verdict. “I’ve waited for a long time for this,” she said. “I’ve wanted this so badly.”
J&J will appeal, said Carol Goodrich, company spokeswoman. “We are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” she said in a statement.Imerys ‘Disappointed’
Imerys is “disappointed’’ with the verdict, said Dan Rene, a company spokesman. Imerys had been cleared in the two prior St. Louis trials, as well as in two claims dismissed in New Jersey, Rene said in a statement.
“This verdict serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer,’’ Rene said. “The theories relied upon by plaintiffs’ experts lacked scientific foundation.’’
J&J is facing hundreds of claims in St. Louis state court, which has become a magnet for plaintiffs’ product defect claims, as well as about 300 suits in Los Angeles, another 200 in New Jersey and a growing number of federal cases combined before one judge in that state. A New Jersey state court judge last month threw out two talc cases set for trial, finding inadequate scientific support for the claims.
JNJ has denied any link to talc use and ovarian cancer.
“Science, research, clinical evidence and decades of studies by medical experts around the world continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,’’ Goodrich said before the verdict. The New Jersey dismissal decision “highlights the lack of scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations,” she said.Risk Known
J&J was aware of “30 years of studies showing an increased risk of ovarian cancer from the use of talc,” Giannecchini’s lawyer, Allen Smith, told jurors in the St. Louis trial. “They knew, and they knew the public was unaware of the risk.” Instead of adding warning labels, J&J “developed a defense strategy to prevent government regulation of its products,” he said.
“I think the jury heard our message loud and clear,” Smith said after the verdict. “If this doesn’t send a message to J&J to add a warning, I don’t know what will.”
The case is Hogans v. Johnson & Johnson, 1422-CC09012-01, Circuit Court, St. Louis City, Missouri (St. Louis).
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-28/j-j-loses-jury-verdict-in-third-talc-cancer-link-trial
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Jury Awards $70M in Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Case
Oct 27, 2016 | KMOX-CBS
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – After hours of deliberation, a St. Louis jury has came to a verdict in the new Johnson and Johnson case.
Deborah Giannecchini of California was awarded more than $70 million on Thursday. She likely won’t survive the next two years, but her attorney, Jim Onder, says the verdict sends a message.
“The families that we’ve represented are not in it for the money,” Onder says. “They’re in it to save the lives of others…and to force Johnson and Johnson to do the right thing.”
Johnson and Johnson is forced to pay $65 million.
Imerys, the company that supplied the talcum powder, is out $2.5 million – even though it warned Johnson and Johnson of the potential danger.
Johnson and Johnson has, and continues, to claim there’s no scientific evidence linking them with health problems.
“There are over 20 medical journal articles,” Onder says. “The fact that they say that the science does not support it, is nothing short of an outright lie.”
Onder says about 4,000 similar cases against Johnson and Johnson are pending.
Giannecchini is represented by The Onder Law Firm.
As previously reported
Jury deliberations are now underway in a major consumer product liability trial in St. Louis.
A woman is seeking $275 million in costs and damages against Johnson and Johnson, blaming the company’s baby powder for her ovarian cancer.
The woman’s attorney told the jury she’s had her ovaries, colon and spleen removed from using talcum products – products Johnson and Johnson knew were a risk, because the supplier has been labeling talc a cancer risk since 1982, but Johnson and Johnson never passed along the warning to consumers.
An attorney for Johnson and Johnson stressed there is no scientific evidence linking talc and cancer, and he asked the jury to not listen to “that dark side of your heart that thinks everybody’s a conspirator.”
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2016/10/27/jury-deliberations-underway-in-johnson-and-johnson-baby-powder-case/
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Jury awards more than $70M to California woman in baby powder lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | WHIO
By Bob D'Angelo
A St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer, The Associated Press reported.
The decision by the jury in the St. Louis Circuit Court case ended the trial that began Sept. 26 in the case brought by Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The suit accused Johnson & Johnson of "negligent conduct" in making and marketing its baby powder.
It is the third jury to award damages over claims that are the basis of about 2,000 pending state and federal lawsuits, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
"We are pleased the jury did the right thing. They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product," Jim Onder, an attorney for the plaintiff, told the AP.
"We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer," Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman with Johnson & Johnson, said in a statement. "We will appeal today's verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder."
Johnson & Johnson is accused by more than 1,200 plaintiffs in state and federal courts of ignoring studies linking its Shower-to-Shower product and Johnson’s Baby Powder to ovarian cancer, the Post-Dispatch reported. A St. Louis jury on Monday ordered the company to pay $55 million to a survivor of the disease in South Dakota. In February, another local jury awarded $72 million to relatives of an Alabama woman who died of ovarian cancer.
Two other cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn't reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer, an often fatal but relatively rare form of cancer. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 22,000 of the 1.7 million new cases of cancer expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.
Much research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and using baby powder for feminine hygiene, and most major health groups have declared talc harmless. Johnson & Johnson, whose baby powder dominates the market, maintains it's perfectly safe.
But Jim Onder of the Onder Law Firm in suburban St. Louis, which represented plaintiffs in all three St. Louis cases, cited other research that began connecting talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s. He said case studies have indicated that women who regularly use talc on their genitals face up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Onder has accused Johnson & Johnson of marketing toward overweight women, blacks and Hispanics — the very same women most at-risk for ovarian cancer, he said.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as "possibly carcinogenic." The National Toxicology Program, made up of parts of several different government agencies, has not fully reviewed talc.
Talc is a mineral that is mined from deposits around the world, including the U.S. The softest of minerals, it's crushed into a white powder. It's been widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture since at least 1894, when Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder was launched. But it's mainly used in a variety of other products, including paint and plastics.The two St. Louis verdicts were the first talcum powder cases in which money was awarded. A federal jury in 2013 sided with another South Dakota woman, but it ordered no damages, a spokeswoman for Onder's firm said.
http://www.whio.com/news/national/jury-awards-more-than-70m-california-woman-baby-powder-lawsuit/sKrA6hWfrNq2QspYMC1LlK/
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Johnson & Johnson Hammered Again in Talc-Ovarian Cancer Verdict of $70 Million
Oct 27, 2016 | FairWarning
By Myron Levin
Health care products giant Johnson & Johnson suffered another big legal defeat late Wednesday, when a St. Louis jury ordered the company and its talc supplier to pay about $70 million in damages to a woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the use of talc powders for feminine hygiene.
The award marked the third consecutive loss for Johnson & Johnson in Missouri state court in St. Louis, where at least half of some 2,000 ovarian cancer cases have been filed. They allege that genital use of the company’s signature talc products–Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower–caused or contributed to ovarian cancer.
The jury voted 9-3 to award compensatory and punitive damages to Deborah Giannecchini, 63, of Modesto, Calif., who suffers from Stage IV ovarian cancer. Most of the award was for punitive damages–$65 million from Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos., Inc, and $2.5 million from Imerys Talc America, Inc. The jury also assessed $2.575 million in compensatory damages, with Johnson & Johnson responsible for 90 percent.
It was the first courtroom loss for Imerys, which was absolved of liability in the previous trials, concluded in February and May. Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay a combined $127 million in damages in those cases. Additional trials are scheduled in St. Louis early next year.
Said Ted Meadows, a lawyer for Giannecchini: “Yet another jury has heard the evidence outlining a link between Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products and ovarian cancer, and has decided that there is a clear connection.”
Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman said: “We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer. We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder. ”
Talc, the softest of minerals, has a multitude of industrial and consumer product uses. It is used in the manufacture of paints, paper, rubber, roofing and ceramic materials–and even as a food additive, in chewing gum, as a filler in capsules and pills and in many cosmetic products. Johnson & Johnson, Imerys and their lawyers have stressed the safety of a wide range of talc uses in an effort to debunk claims that the substance could cause ovarian cancer.
Suspicions about talc and ovarian cancer go back decades. In 1982, the journal Cancer published the first study showing a statistical link between genital talc use and the disease. Since then, at least 20 more epidemiological studies have found increased rates of ovarian cancer for women who reported using talc for feminine hygiene.
But other studies have found no association. J&J and others in the cosmetics industry point to a lack of proof of a biological mechanism by which talc could cause ovarian cancer.
This year, an estimated 22,280 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, and about 14,240 will die. The disease strikes about one woman in 70. Studies showing a higher rate of ovarian cancer with genital talc use have typically put the increased risk at about 30 to 35 percent—which would raise the odds of getting the disease to roughly one in 50.
Illustrating the vagaries of product litigation, the evidence leading to eye-popping damage awards in St. Louis has been deemed by a New Jersey judge to be too weak to present to juries in that state. In a Sept. 2 ruling, the New Jersey Superior Court judge, Nelson C. Johnson, excluded testimony by two key plaintiffs experts, stating that “their testimony about the causal connection between talc use and ovarian cancer was not scientifically reliable.”
In his 33-page opinion, Johnson said the testimony of Dr. Daniel Cramer, a professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Graham Colditz, a medical professor at Washington University in St. Louis, suffered from ”multiple deficiencies, the most salient of which are the narrowness and shallowness of their scientific inquiries and the evidence upon which they rely.” Cramer and Colditz are leading authors of epidemiological studies linking talc and ovarian cancer, and both have testified in St. Louis.
Johnson’s ruling means that at least 200 ovarian cancer cases in New Jersey that are consolidated before him will not go forward unless his exclusion of the plaintiffs’ evidence is overturned on appeal.
Goodrich of Johnson & Johnson alluded to the New Jersey ruling in her statement Wednesday, noting its conclusion that ”plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.”
Prior to the recent litigation, suspicions about the risks of talc were almost unknown outside of the scientific community. The iconic Johnson’s Baby Powder, introduced by J&J in 1894 and used for decades to powder babies’ bottoms, has long been regarded as quintessentially wholesome and benign.
Shower to Shower, another talc powder used for feminine hygiene, was marketed by Johnson & Johnson with ads that said: “A sprinkle a day keeps odor away. … Your body perspires in more places than just under your arms.” In October 2012, for reasons neither company would discuss, J&J sold North American marketing rights for Shower to Shower to Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
Under unusual rules in St. Louis Circuit Court, up to 99 claimants can be lumped in a single lawsuit. As long as the case includes local residents, the other claimants can reside anywhere in the country. Along with California resident Giannecchini, plainitffs in the previous cases were Gloria Ristesund of Sioux Falls, S.D., and the family of Jacqueline Fox of Birmingham, Ala., who died of ovarian cancer last October at the age of 62.
The Giannecchini jury found Johnson & Johnson and Imerys guilty of negligence and failure to warn of the risks of genital use of talc powders. It also found Johnson & Johnson guilty of concealment and Imerys liable for conspiracy.
In closing arguments, Allen Smith, a lawyer for Giannecchini, compared the defendants to the tobacco and asbestos industries for their failure to warn about the risks of talc.
“Does anybody disagree that a woman or man should be able to make an informed decision” about their own health? he asked.
But Johnson & Johnson lawyer David Dukes said no product warnings are required unless a risk is “generally accepted in the medical community” — which he said is not the case with talc.
The plaintiffs’ case was based on emotion because “the science is not on their side,” Dukes said.
“All of us have had a bad experience with big companies,” he said. “‘We are all sympathetic about someone who has cancer.” But, he said, “the totality of scientific evidence … shows that talc does not cause ovarian cancer.”
Separately, a Dallas law firm Wednesday announced an $18.07 million verdict that it described as the largest in a mesothelioma case involving exposure to cosmetic talc that was contaminated by asbestos. Mesothelioma is a lethal form of asbestos-related cancer. A settlement was reached this week prior to the punitive damages phase of the case against talc supplier Whittaker, Clark & Daniels.
Talc and asbestos sometimes are mined in the same deposits. However, Johnson & Johnson says its talc supplies are asbestos-free, and plaintiffs in the ovarian cancer cases blame the illnesses on talc alone.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2016/10/talc-overian-cancer-verdict/
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Woman Wins $70 Million In Baby Powder Lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | Immortal News
By Zye Angiwan
A California woman is due to receive over $70 million in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, after a St. Louis jury ruled in her favor Thursday. The plaintiff alleged that the corporation’s baby powder gave her ovarian cancer, raising concerns about the effects of using talcum powder for long periods of time. Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She filed the lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming that their “negligent conduct” in making and marketing their baby powder led to her condition, ABC News reports. Jim Onder, one of Giannecchini’s lawyers, told The Associated Press, “We are pleased the jury did the right thing. They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product.” For its part, a spokesperson for the company, Carol Goodrich, stated,
We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer. We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.
Johnson & Johnson makes and distributes hygiene products worldwide. Earlier this year, two other lawsuits filed in St. Louis against the same company resulted in jury verdicts awarding the plaintiffs a combined $127 million. But in New Jersey, two similar cases were dismissed by a judge who ruled that there was not sufficient evidence that talc directly causes ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer, a relatively rare but often deadly form of cancer, comprises around 22,000 of the 1.7 million new cancer patients predicted to be diagnosed in the country this 2016.
Some 2,000 other women have filed the same lawsuits, and lawyers are reviewing thousands of others that have stemmed from the publicity surrounding the St. Louis cases. One was $72 million granted to the relatives of a woman in Alabama who died of ovarian cancer, and another $55 million to a South Dakota woman who survived. There are plenty of studies that have found no evidence or a weak link between ovarian cancer and baby powder in feminine hygiene. Most health groups have declared talc harmless.
Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder dominates the market, and they maintain that their products are safe. However, Onder of the Onder Law Firm in St. Louis, which represented all three winning plaintiffs, presented other research from the 1970s that connected talcum powder to ovarian cancer. He insists that studies indicate that women who use talc regularly on their genital area are 40% more likely to develop ovarian cancer.
Onder has also accused Johnson & Johnson of steering their talcum powder products towards black and Hispanic women, and overweight women, who are all at a high risk for the disease. A woman’s risks of developing ovarian cancer are tied to age, obesity, use of estrogen, not having children, family history and genetic anomalies. The St. Louis cases were the first regarding talcum powder to be awarded money. In 2013, a federal jury agreed with another woman from South Dakota, but no damages were ordered, the Onder Law Firm said.
https://www.immortal.org/29656/woman-wins-70-million-baby-powder-lawsuit/ -
Woman wins £58m after claiming Johnson's baby powder gave her cancer
Oct 28, 2016 | Sky News
A woman has been awarded more than $70m (£58m) after alleging that using Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer.
Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012.
She accused talc makers Johnson & Johnson of "negligent conduct" in making and marketing the product.
The woman's lawyer Jim Onder said: "We are pleased the jury did the right thing.
"They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product."
The case is the latest which has raised concerns about the health ramifications of extended use of talcum powder.
Some research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and baby powder and the company has insisted it is safe.
But other research has indicated that women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40% higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Factors known to increase the risk include age, obesity, oestrogen therapy after the menopause, not having children and family history.
Talc is a soft mineral mined from deposits around the world and is crushed into a white powder.
It has been widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture since at least 1894, when Johnson & Johnson launched its baby powder.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as "possibly carcinogenic"After the verdict, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement: "We will appeal today's verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder."
Earlier this year, two other lawsuits in St. Louis ended in jury verdicts worth a combined $127m (£104m).
But two others in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn't reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.
About 2,000 women have filed similar law suits and lawyers are reviewing thousands of other potential cases.
Johnson & Johnson has been targeted before by health and consumer groups over ingredients in its products, including Johnson's No More Tears baby shampoo.
http://news.sky.com/story/woman-wins-16358m-after-claiming-johnsons-baby-powder-gave-her-cancer-10634949
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Talcum Powder Lawsuit: Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay $70M After Losing Third Trial
Oct 28, 2016 | International Business Times
By Suman Varandani
A California woman was awarded more than $70 million by a St. Louis judge in a verdict against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder's link with cancer. On Thursday, the company lost a third straight trial after three hours of deliberations.
About 1,700 lawsuits in state and federal courts have been filed against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn consumers that its baby powder and Shower-to-Shower talc products may cause ovarian cancer. Earlier this year, the company lost $72 million and $55 million in the first two talc claims in St. Louis.
The third trial related to claims by Deborah Giannecchini, who used Johnson & Johnson's baby powder for feminine hygiene for more than four decades until she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago. The lawyers of the 62-year-old said that she has an 80 percent chance of dying in the next two years despite undergoing surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, Bloomberg reported.
The court has ordered the company to pay Giannecchini $65 million in punitive damages and 90 percent of about $2.5 million for medical costs and suffering. Imerys Talc America, the supplier of the talc, faces $2.5 million in punitive damages.
“It seemed like Johnson & Johnson didn’t pay attention,” one juror, Billie Ray, 76, of St. Louis, reportedly said, adding that a warning label should have been placed on talc containers to let consumers know about the risks. “It seemed like they didn’t care.”
The victim said that she was overwhelmed by the verdict as she "waited for a long time for this ... I’ve wanted this so badly."
Johnson & Johnson's spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said that the company will appeal the verdict, denying any link to talc use and ovarian cancer: “We are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder."
“Science, research, clinical evidence and decades of studies by medical experts around the world continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,’’ Goodrich said before the verdict, according to Bloomberg.
During the trial, Giannecchini’s lawyer, Allen Smith, told jurors that the company was aware of “30 years of studies showing an increased risk of ovarian cancer from the use of talc. They knew, and they knew the public was unaware of the risk.” Johnson & Johnson “developed a defense strategy to prevent government regulation of its products,” instead of warning consumers, Smith reportedly said.
http://www.ibtimes.com/talcum-powder-lawsuit-johnson-johnson-ordered-pay-70m-after-losing-third-trial-2438486
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Woman gets £60million payout after claims talcum powder gave her ovarian cancer
Oct 28, 2016 | Express
By Indra Warnes
Johnson and Johnson has paid out £60 million in damages to a woman claiming its talcum powder gave her ovarian cancer.
The woman successfully sued Johnson & Johnson for "negligent conduct" in both the way it makes and markets its baby powder.
The St. Louis jury's ruling ends the latest case raising concerns about the health risks of using talcum powder.
Johnson & Johnson say they will appeal the verdict.
http://www.express.co.uk/search?s=Indra%20Warnes
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Jury awards cancer sufferer $70m following Johnson & Johnson lawsuit
Oct 28, 2016 | City A.M.
By Oliver Gill
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $70m ($57m) of damages by a US jury following allegations that prolonged use of its baby powder caused a ovarian cancer.
Filed in St Louis, the lawsuit accused Johnson & Johnson – whose corporate roots trace back to 1886 – of “negligent conduct” in the production and marketing of the world-famous product.
Californian Deborah Giannecchini brought the case against the pharmaceutical giant after she was diagnosed in 2012, according to reports by Associated Press.
There have been a number of conflicting court rulings in the US in similar cases. St Louis courts had previously imposed $127m in damages across two other cases.
However, two other cases heard in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who concluded that the evidence to support the accusations was not reliable enough.
http://www.cityam.com/252462/jury-awards-cancer-sufferer-70m-following-johnson-johnson
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Woman claiming baby powder gave her cancer awarded £57million
Oct 28, 2016 | Metro
By Tanveer Mann
A woman from California has been awarded $70,000,000 in a lawsuit after claiming that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) baby powder caused her to develop cancer.
Deborah Giannecchini, 62, used J&J’s baby powder for feminine hygiene for more than four decades until she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012.
She has since undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and has an 80 percent chance of dying in the next two years, her lawyers said.
The suit accused J&J of ‘negligent conduct’ in making and marketing its baby powder.
And after deliberating for three hours, jurors ruled in favour of the woman.
A J&J unit was ordered to pay $65 (£53) million in punitive damages and 90 percent of about $2.5 million for medical costs and pain and suffering.
Co-defendant Imerys Talc America, the supplier of the talc, was ordered to pay $2.5 million in punitive damages.
Jim Onder, the claimant’s lawyer, said: ‘We are pleased the jury did the right thing.’
‘They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product.’
In a statement provided to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich, said: ‘We deeply sympathise with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer.
‘We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.’
Earlier this year, two similar lawsuits in St Louis ended in a combined $127 million being paid out while about 2,000 women have filed similar suits across the country.
Ovarian cancer makes up around 22,000 of the 1.7 million new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.
According to a large amount of research, there is no link between ovarian cancer and using baby powder for feminine hygiene.
But Mr Onder, from the Onder Law Firm, stated other research that indicated that women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/28/woman-claiming-baby-powder-gave-her-cancer-awarded-57million-6219782/
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Oct 28, 2016 | International Business Times, India Edition
By Pranshu Rathi
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Thursday lost a third lawsuit over claims its baby talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer with a St. Louis jury awarding a California woman more than $70 million. Earlier two damage verdicts awarded against the company amounted to $72 million and $55 million. Both are being appealed.
J&J is accused in roughly 1,700 lawsuits in state and federal courts for ignoring research that has linked its products to cancer and also for failing to alert customers about the risk. Two of its products – baby powder and Shower-to-Shower talc – are particularly linked to ovarian cancer.
"It seemed like Johnson & Johnson didn't pay attention…It seemed like they didn't care," Billie Ray, 76, a juror in the case was quoted saying while adding that the company should have provided a warning label to allow consumers to decide for themselves.
Deborah Giannecchini, 62, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and, according to her lawyers who have consulted medical professionals, despite her having undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, she has an 80 percent chance of dying in the next two years. Deborah used J&J's baby powder for feminine hygiene for over forty years.
"I've waited for a long time for this…I've wanted this so badly," Giannecchini said after the verdict ordered J&J to pay $65 million in punitive damages and 90 percent of about $2.5 million for medical costs and pain and suffering.
The supplier of the talc and co-defendant in the case, Imerys Talc America, was also hit with $2.5 million in punitive damages. Company spokesman Dan Rene said that it's "disappointed'' with the verdict as Imerys had been cleared in the two prior St. Louis trials, as well as in two claims dismissed in New Jersey.
J&J has overtly denied any link to talc use and ovarian cancer.
"We are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder. Science, research, clinical evidence and decades of studies by medical experts around the world continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,'' Carol Goodrich, company spokeswoman said, adding that the New Jersey dismissal decision "highlights the lack of scientific evidence behind plaintiffs' allegations."
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/us-jury-awards-70-million-woman-who-alleged-johnson-baby-powder-caused-cancer-701629
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