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Cosmetic Talc Litigation Media Coverage November 02, 2016
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Talc verdict winner: Money can’t make up for lost health
Nov 1, 2016 | Surgar
Imerys had not been found liable in the previous two cases. Deborah Giannecchini, 62, used J&J baby powder for 40 years until she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago, according to her lawyers. -
$70 Million Awarded in Baby Powder Lawsuit
Nov 1, 2016 | Cosumnes Connection
By Joanne Flowers
Deborah Giannecchini, a resident of Modesto, Calif., won more than $70 million in damages from J&J after she successfully convinced the jury that the company failed to inform her about a possible link between its baby powder and ovarian cancer. -
Jury awards $70m in latest Johnson & Johnson talc ruling
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
For a third time, Johnson & Johnson has been found liable for injuries from ovarian cancer linked to the use of its talc-containing products. The company has been ordered to pay $65m in punitive damages as part of a $70.075m verdict. -
'There's more than one baby product on the market that contains talc' - Cansa
Nov 1, 2016 | 702
The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) has long supported findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that talcum powder is a possible cause for cancer.
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Talc verdict winner: Money can’t make up for lost health
Nov 1, 2016 | Surgar
Imerys had not been found liable in the previous two cases.
Deborah Giannecchini, 62, used J&J baby powder for 40 years until she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago, according to her lawyers.
Science now shows no definitive causal relationship between talc and cancer, and experts agree that doing a study on it would be unethical, “asking a group of women to use talcum powder on their genitals and wait to see if it causes cancer, while comparing them to a group who didn’t use it”, notes the AP. 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. Two other suits in St. Louis resulted in jury verdicts totaling $127 million, but two others were thrown out.
Juror Billie Ray, 76, of St. Louis, told Bloomberg after the trial that Johnson & Johnson should have provided a warning label on the product to let consumers decide whether to use the product.
“We had asked for $280 million”.
There are now hundreds of claims against the company in the St Louis State Court, which has been described as “becoming a magnet” for product defect claims, as well as another estimated 300 cases in Los Angeles and another 200 in New Jersey. “Johnson & Johnson brought in a corporate representative we felt like was caught in conflicting testimony”, Meadows said.
“This verdict serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer, ” Mr. Rene said. She said at a news conference Friday that she used Johnson’s Baby Power for 45 years before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012.
About half the punitive damages would go toward the Missouri Crime Victim Compensation Fund, Onder said.
Onder has accused Johnson & Johnson of marketing toward overweight women, blacks and Hispanics – the very same women most at-risk for ovarian cancer.
“We observed no overall association with ever talc use and epithelial ovarian cancer and no increase in risk of ovarian cancer with increasing frequency of use”, the study reads.
“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”, Beasley Allen lawyer Ted Meadows said in a statement.
Despite the lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson says their baby powder product is perfectly safe. All other powders are made of cornstarch which has not been linked to any adverse health effects. Dr. Daniel Cramer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston has been studying the talc-ovarian cancer link for 30 years. Part of what we have to prove is that the science is there, and it’s been there for decades.
The New Jersey-based company insists its talcum products are safe and there is no scientific evidence that they cause health problems.
Last month, two similar lawsuits were dismissed in New Jersey. A spokesperson for Johnson and Johnson says they will appeal the verdict.
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.
http://surgar.net/english/health/talc-verdict-winner-money-cant-make-up-for-lost-health-5/113828
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$70 Million Awarded in Baby Powder Lawsuit
Nov 1, 2016 | Cosumnes Connection
By Joanne Flowers
Deborah Giannecchini, a resident of Modesto, Calif., won more than $70 million in damages from J&J after she successfully convinced the jury that the company failed to inform her about a possible link between its baby powder and ovarian cancer.
J&J was ordered to pay $65 million in punitive damages and 90 percent of $3 million in actual damages. Another trial is scheduled for February.
"It's been a long-fought battle", she told NBC News after the trial in St. Louis.
The woman's lawyer Jim Onder said: "We are pleased the jury did the right thing".
Spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said: "We deeply sympathise with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer".
While juror Billie Ray, 76, felt that Johnson & Johnson products should feature a warning label to allow customers to decide whether they want to use the talc.
The awards are astounding and very frightening to women who use products containing talc.
Most research has found either no link or a weak link between ovarian cancer and the use of baby powder - with most major health groups declaring it's harmless.
Giannecchini, now 63, was 59 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in 2012. But studies have found conflicting results.
The St. Louis Circuit Court jury is the third to award damages over claims that are the basis of about 2,000 pending state and federal lawsuits.
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.
All three cases were handled by the Onder Law Firm of Webster Groves, which has advertised nationwide for ovarian cancer patients who suspect baby powder may be linked to their disease.
Of course, lawsuits don't determine whether a product actually contributes to or causes cancer.
"Few ingredients have demonstrated the same performance, mildness and safety profile as cosmetic talc, which has been used for over 100 years by millions of people around the world", said Johnson & Johnson in a statement on its website.
Prior to the recent litigation, suspicions about the risks of talc were almost unknown outside of the scientific community.
In another suit, Johnson and Johnson settled with 62-year-old Gloria Ristesund for 55 million dollars. "They once again reaffirmed the need for Johnson & Johnson to warn the public of the ovarian cancer risk associated with its product". Instead of adding warning labels, J&J "developed a defense strategy to prevent government regulation of its products", he said.
http://crcconnection.com/2016/11/01/70-million-awarded-in-baby-powder-lawsuit.html
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Jury awards $70m in latest Johnson & Johnson talc ruling
Nov 2, 2016 | Chemical Watch
By Kelly Franklin
For a third time, Johnson & Johnson has been found liable for injuries from ovarian cancer linked to the use of its talc-containing products. The company has been ordered to pay $65m in punitive damages as part of a $70.075m verdict.
And for the first time, the jury also held talc supplier Imerys liable. The verdict includes $2.5m in punitive damages against the company.
The jury’s decision was handed down in favour of Deborah Giannecchini, a plaintiff in a large class-action of suits claiming that use of the multinational conglomerate’s talcum powder products for feminine hygiene has contributed to injuries resulting from ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $72m and $55m in actual and punitive damages in two cases decided earlier this year.
The company says it is appealing all three decisions.
In a statement issued following the most recent, it said it will “appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s baby powder.”
The company pointed to two cases that were thrown out by a New Jersey state court judge earlier this year, who ruled that the science did not adequately support that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson said the judge’s decision “highlights the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations”.
A spokesperson for talc supplier Imerys said it is confident in the safety of its products, a view which is “supported by the consensus view of qualified scientific experts and regulatory agencies”.
And the company said its position was reaffirmed by the New Jersey court’s decision, which found – through a review of more than 100 studies and hearing seven days of scientific testimony – that “the theories relied upon by plaintiffs’ experts lacked scientific foundation”.
But Ted Meadows, a lawyer with the plaintiffs’ firm Beasley Allen, said the jury’s most recent decision reaffirms that it’s time for Johnson & Johnson “to come clean and put consumer health ahead of profits”.
“Despite repeated verdicts that hold the company accountable, Johnson & Johnson has refused to remove its talcum powder products from shelves, has refused to warn consumers about the risk, and continues to deny its responsibility,” said Mr Meadows. “When is enough going to be enough?”
The American Cancer Society says that the findings of studies exploring the possible link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer have been “mixed”.
Some case-control studies have found a small increase in risk, while two prospective cohort studies have not found an increased risk, according to the ACS. “For any individual woman, if there is an increased risk, the overall increase is likely to very be small,” says the organisation.
While the appeals process continues, the company faces thousands of complaints, in several states, that have yet to be heard.
https://chemicalwatch.com/50667/jury-awards-70m-in-latest-johnson-johnson-talc-ruling
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'There's more than one baby product on the market that contains talc' - Cansa
Nov 1, 2016 | 702
The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) has long supported findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that talcum powder is a possible cause for cancer.
We have been saying for years, even in our fact sheets, there is a possibility that if you use any product with talc in it, especially if you use it in the perineum area, IARC says yes there's a possibility this can cause cancer, specifically ovarian cancer— Professor Michael Herbst, Head of Research at Cansa
In the United States, Johnson & Johnson recently lost its third court trial over claims that its talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer.
The plaintiff was awarded more than 70 million US Dollars after alleging that using the brand's talcum powder for years had caused her cancer.
Nobody is compelled to use any product that contains talc, because there are baby powders on the market in South Africa that are talc-free— Professor Michael Herbst, Head of Research at Cansa
Speaking to #NightTalk's Gugs Mhlungu, Cansa Head of Research Professor Michael Herbst says that there are other baby products which use talcum powder in the market, and there are also products which are talc-free.
Professor Herbst says that IARC findings show that continued use of talcum powder over a long period of time, even from infancy, increases one's risk of getting ovarian cancer.
Cancer is not something like you use talc today and tomorrow you've got ovarian cancer. Its usually a period of long-term use of talc in the perineum that can possibly lead to ovarian cancer— Professor Michael Herbst, Head of Research at Cansa
http://www.702.co.za/articles/231437/there-is-more-than-one-baby-product-on-the-market-that-contains
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