Preview Newsletter

Talc Verdict

Traditional Coverage

Does baby powder cause cancer? Another jury says yes.
May 5, 2017 | Associated Press
By Linda A. Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict for the fourth time over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
Jury Awards $110 Million to Plaintiff in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Case
May 5, 2017 | Wall Street Journal
By Anne Steele and Jonathan D. Rockoff

Johnson & Johnson was hit with a $110 million jury decision in favor of a woman who said talc in the company's baby powder gave her ovarian cancer, the latest -- and largest -- verdict yet in the litigation saga.
J&J hit with $110 million verdict in baby powder suit
May 5, 2017 | CBS News

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) baby powder caused cancer.
Can talcum baby powder really cause cancer? Another jury says yes
May 5, 2017 | TODAY
By Maggie Fox

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict for the fourth time over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
Jury awards record-setting $110.5M in baby powder lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | Associated Press

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused cancer.
Cancer patient wins $110M in baby powder lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson
May 5, 2017 | USA Today
By Nathan Bomey

A Missouri jury ordered health products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman for allegedly failing to disclose the cancer risk from its baby powder and another product.
J&J ordered to pay $110 million in talc product liability trial
May 4, 2017 | Reuters
By Nate Raymond

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St. Louis jury to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum products.
J&J Loses $110 Million Verdict Over Talc Cancer-Link Claim
May 4, 2017 | Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St. Louis jury to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum products.
St. Louis jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $110 million in latest talc case
May 5, 2017 | St. Louis Business Journal
By Angela Mueller

A St. Louis jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who alleges she developed cancer after more than four decades of using the company's products containing talc.
J&J Hit With $110M Verdict In Latest Mo. Talc Cancer Trial
May 4, 2017 | Law360
By Daniel Siegal

A Missouri jury hit Johnson & Johnson with a $110 million verdict late Thursday in a woman's suit alleging the company's talcum powder products caused her ovarian tumors, handing the company its largest trial loss yet in talc litigation in the state.
$110.5 million verdict for plaintiff in fifth talcum powder cancer trial in St. Louis
May 4, 2017 | St. Louis Dispatch
By Joel Currier

A St. Louis Circuit Court jury returned a $110.5 million verdict Thursday for a Virginia woman in a lawsuit claiming Johnson & Johnson's products caused her ovarian cancer.
BREAKING: J&J Slammed With $110M Verdict After Jury Finds Talc Powder Caused Woman’s Cancer
May 4, 2017 | Courtroom View Network
By David Siegal

A Missouri state court jury on Thursday awarded over $110 million to a woman claiming she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder-based products on her genitals for decades, marking the largest verdict yet after five previous trials.
J&J Takes $110M Hit in Talc Trial, Adding to String of Losses
May 4, 2017 | National Law Journal
By Amanda Bronstad

Johnson & Johnson was hit with a record $110 million verdict Thursday in the fifth trial over the safety of its talcum powder.
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110M to woman in talc products case
May 5, 2017 | Pittsburgh Action News 4

On Thursday, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $110 million to a Virginia woman, Lois Slemp, after she said her ovarian cancer developed after decades of using the company's talc-based products, Reuters reported.
Jury Finds Against Johnson & Johnson in Baby Powder Lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | The Street
By Amanda Schiavo

A Jury in St. Louis awarded a Virginia woman a settlement of $110.5 million in one of several lawsuits brought against health care industry giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , in relation to the alleged connection between the company's baby powder product and cancer.
Verdict: Ovarian Cancer Patient Gets Millions from Baby Powder Company
May 5, 2017 | CBN News
By Lorie Johnson

Health products giant Johnson & Johnson lost another lawsuit this week to a woman who claimed their talc-based products caused her ovarian cancer and should have displayed a warning label.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Must Pay $110 Million in Latest Baby Powder Case
May 5, 2017 | Investorplace
By William White

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is being forced to pay $110 million in the latest baby powder case against it.
J&J Slammed with $110 Million Verdict in 5th Talcum Powder Lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | Daily Horney
By Ray Simon

Plaintiff in the case was 62-year-old Louis Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after using Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower body powder for more than four decades. Her cancer has spread to her liver, and she was too ill to attend the trial.
Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay Another $110 Million In Ovarian Cancer Case
May 5, 2017 | Refinery 29
By Kasandra Brabaw

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay a record $110 million to a Virginia woman who claims the company's baby powder caused her ovarian cancer, the Associated Press reports. This is the third lawsuit the company has lost in a little more than a year.
Johnson & Johnson Faces $110 Million Verdict After Woman Claims Baby Powder Gave Her Cancer
May 5, 2017 | Good Housekeeping
By Lyndsey Matthews

A Missouri state jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who claims that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using the company's talc-based products for decades.
Jury Awards Woman $110.5M In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | Consumerist
By Ashlee Kieler

More than a year after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in the state awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in a similar lawsuit.
Woman Awarded $110 Million in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | The Cut
By Lisa Ryan

Johnson & Johnson was hit with its largest jury verdict yet in the ongoing lawsuits alleging its baby powder causes ovarian cancer, as a St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a woman a record-setting $110.5 million. Prior to this, the largest award to an individual plaintiff in the multiple suits over the company’s baby powder had been $72 million.
Woman With Ovarian Cancer Receives $110 Million From Johnson & Johnson For Baby Powder Lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | Romper
By James Rhodes Cook

A jury in Missouri ordered the Johnson & Johnson company to pay a large sum to a Virginia woman for allegedly failing to disclose the cancer risk associated with its baby powder and another product produced by the health product company. The woman with ovarian cancer received $110.5 million from Johnson & Johnson for the lawsuit, which is not the first of its kind.
$110M award in talcum powder case is largest award in suits claiming link to ovarian cancer
May 5, 2017 | ABA Journal
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Jurors in St. Louis have awarded $110 million to a Virginia woman who claimed talcum powder sold by Johnson & Johnson caused her ovarian cancer.
Jury Awards Virginia Woman $110.5M in Baby Powder Case
May 5, 2017 | Courthouse News Service

A jury in St. Louis awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer.
Bombshell claim: Baby powder causes cancer
May 6, 2017 | Building a Better World News
By Dan Taylor

Giant corporation Johnson & Johnson has been dealt a huge blow after a jury awarded a multi-million dollar verdict over whether talc in its baby power causes ovarian cancer when it is used for feminine hygiene.
Latest Talcum Powder Lawsuit Results in $110 Million Verdict
May 7, 2017 | Consumer Safety
By Jonas Sickler

When asked if Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products were to blame for another woman’s ovarian cancer diagnosis, a fourth jury said yes. The $110 million verdict was announced on Thursday, May 4 in St. Louis, and it marks the largest settlement to date against Johnson & Johnson over it’s Shower to Shower and Baby Powder products.
Louis Slemp, 62, Wins Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson After Accusations Of Baby Powder Resulting In Cancer
May 7, 2017 | South Texas News
By Jeff Scott

A woman from Virginia, who accused Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder results in cancer, won the case as St Louis court gave her $110.5 million.
Mom Got Cancer After Using Johnson & Johnson for 40 Years. Now They're Paying for It, Big Time
May 6, 2017 | Independent Journal Review
By Angie Mcpherson

Lois Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. It has since spread to her liver.
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in US talcum powder cancer lawsuit
May 8, 2017 | Pharmaceutical Business Review

A Missouri jury has ordered pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110m as compensation to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using the company's talc-based products.
Talc powder trial ends with $110 million judgment against J&J
May 8, 2017 | St. Louis Record
By Michael Carroll

Jurors hit Johnson & Johnson with a $110 million judgment last week as they drew a link between the company’s talc powder products and a Virginia woman’s ovarian cancer.

International Coverage

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in US talc cancer case
May 5, 2017 | BBC

Pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been ordered by a US court to pay more than $110m (£85m) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using its talcum powder.
Johnson & Johnson Accused of Selling Cancer-Causing Talc
May 5, 2017 | NDTV

In another recent health scare, Johnson & Johnson, an American multinational known for manufacturing pharmaceutical and consumer goods especially for babies, has been accused of using carcinogenic ingredients in its talcum powder. The world's largest health care company has been ordered by the St. Louis jury to pay 110 million US dollars to a women in Virginia who claims to have developed ovarian cancer after almost 40 years of using their talc-based product for feminine hygiene.
Johnson & Johnson to pay $148 million in damages to woman who ‘got cancer’ from their baby powder
May 5, 2017 | News.com.au

COSMETICS company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$110 million (AU$148 million) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after 40 years of using of its talc- based products for feminine hygiene.
Following today’s latest outcome, J & J said in a statement it sympathised with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” J & J
May 5, 2017 | HindustanTimes
By Sanchita Sharma

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a US jury to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who sued the company saying she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene.
Johnson & Johnson loses lawsuit: Is there a link between talc products and cancer?
May 5, 2017 | Straits Times
By Toh Wen Li

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St Louis jury on Thursday (May 4) to pay more than US$110 million (S$154 million) to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company's talcum products.
Johnson Baby Powder Causes Cancer? Jury Rules J&J To Pay $110m To Woman Over Talc-Cancer Allegation
May 5, 2017 | International Business Times
By Shreesha Ghosh

Johnson & Johnson was ordered Thursday by a jury in Missouri state court to pay over $110 million in its fifth trial over the safety of its talcum powder, to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after almost 40 years of using the company’s talc-based products.
Johnson & Johnson powder gave a woman ovarian cancer; now it has to pay up
May 5, 2017 | Business Standard
By Surbhi Gloria Singh

A verdict in Missouri awarded $US5.4 million in compensatory damages to a woman in Virginia and said J & J was 99 per cent at fault as the woman developed cancer after four decades of daily use of talc-containing products produced by J & J, specifically the well-known Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
Another woman gets mega payout over baby powder
May 5, 2017 | Starts at 60

A US judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay millions to a woman after finding there was sufficient evidence the company’s baby powder caused her ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110M in cancer lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | UPI
By Andrew V. Pestano

A St. Louis jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed the company's talcum products for her ovarian cancer.
US pharma Johnson & Johnson loses $110mn talc cancer case
May 5, 2017 | RT

A court in St. Louis, Missouri has ordered the US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman, who claims she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using its talcum powder.
‘TALC CANCER DANGER’ Woman awarded £85MILLION after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson baby powder
May 5, 2017 | The Sun
By Tom Michael

THE makers of Johnson’s baby powder have been ordered to shell out more than £85million to a US woman who says she got cancer from using its products.
Johnson and Johnson ordered to pay woman US$110 over cancer claims
May 5, 2017 | International Business Times
By Anne Lu

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by court to pay US$110 million (AU$149 million) to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer from using the brand’s talcum powder for four decades. The verdict was the largest so far from thousands of lawsuits accusing the multinational corporation of not warning consumers about the alleged cancer risks of its Johnson’s Baby Powder.
Woman who blamed cancer on baby powder is awarded £85MILLION by Johnson & Johnson
May 5, 2017 | The Mirror
By Keith Perry

A woman in the US has been awarded £85MILLION after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson baby powder. A jury in St Louis, Missouri, awarded the record sum to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, in the latest court case against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.
J&J to pay $148m to woman who ‘got cancer’ from baby powder
May 6, 2017 | Queensland Times

COSMETICS company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$110 million (AU$148 million) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after 40 years of using of its talc- based products for feminine hygiene.
Jury awards record $110.5M in Johnson's baby powder lawsuit
May 6, 2017 | Cox Media
By Joy Johnston

A jury in Missouri awarded a Virginia woman $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused ovarian cancer.
Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay More Than $110 Million In Baby Powder, Shower To Shower Powder Cancer Case
May 5, 2017 | Tech Tiems
By Allan Adamson

On Thursday, May 4 a Missouri jury ordered the company to pay more than $110 million to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson talc-based products for feminine hygiene.
Johnson & Johnson to pay $110m in cancer lawsuit
May 5, 2017 | Pulse Headlines
By Daniel Francis

A Missouri jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson has to pay $110 million in damages to a Virginia woman who sued the company for not warning consumers about cancer risk on their talc products.
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay USD 110.5 million to Virginia woman
May 6, 2017 | The Asian Age

Multinational giant Johnson & Johnson's has been by directed by the St Louis jury to pay a Virginia woman USD 110.5 million as compensation.
$110M awarded in baby-powder suit
May 6, 2017 | Rutland Herald

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a recordsetting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer.
Does baby powder cause cancer? Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in talc cancer case
May 7, 2017 | The Indian Tribune
By Sagar Pandit

The problems of multinational company Johnson & Johnson are not over yet. This is 4th time it has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict. Before this, the company has faced many trials for its iconic baby powder. The people across the world has claimed that baby powder is responsible for ovarian cancer when regularly used for feminine hygiene.
Q&A: What you need to know as woman wins record £85m in lawsuit alleging baby powder caused cancer
May 7, 2017 | PA Viral News
By Nilima Marshall

A woman has been awarded $110.5 million (£85m) after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson and Johnson baby powder.
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110 million after woman blamed cancer on baby powder
May 6, 2017 | Indian Express

In another health scare, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene after almost 40 years. The plaintiff Lois Slemp, 62, was awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $105 million against Johnson & Johnson and $50,000 against Imerys Talc America, the company which provides the product to J&J.
Woman Who Blamed Cancer On Baby Powder Is Awarded £85million
May 6, 2017 | UNILAD
By Francesca Donovan

Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia was awarded the sum by a jury in St Louis, Missouri and the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will have to pay up.
Woman awarded £85 million after blaming her cancer on Johnson’s baby powder
May 7, 2017 | Metro
By Tanveer Mann

Lois Slemp, 62, from Virginia, Missouri, claims she developed the cancer after four decades of using talc products.
Talcum powder cancer case: US pharma giant Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m damages
May 8, 2017 | Daily Pakistan
By Dawood Rehman

A cancer patient has won her case against US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over talcum powder products allegedly leading to cancer.
Woman awarded €100m in latest Johnson & Johnson talcum powder case
May 8, 2017 | Xpose.ie

Last Thursday, Johnson & Johnson were ordered by a US court to pay €100m to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer following years of using it's talcum powder products for feminine hygiene.
J&J ORDERED TO PAY $150M FINE
May 7, 2017 | AJP.com.au
By Janet Doyle

Last week J&J was ordered by a US jury to pay almost AU$150 million to a woman who claimed the talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer, after decades of using of it.
Jury awards record-setting sum in baby powder lawsuit
May 8, 2017 | Health 24

"Excessive litigation" in America creates enormous costs for companies – especially small businesses, many of which can go bankrupt due to a single suit, and according to a new poll sponsored by the Institute for Legal Reform, 87% of voters think that the number of lawsuits in the country is a problem.
TALC TALK What is talcum powder made of, what is the Johnson & Johnson cancer lawsuit and what is baby powder used for?
May 8, 2017 | The Sun
By Becky Pemberton

OFTEN associated with kid’s bath times and your grandparent’s bathroom cabinet, talcum powder has been a household staple for generations. But recent lawsuits have seen people being awarded millions in damages after claiming talcum powder gave them cancer, so is it unsafe?

Broadcast Coverage

Worldwide Exchange
May 5, 2017 | CNBC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27190014?token=f15dcbcd-9a6c-4ae7-9a94-09ab7d56f0b2
Bloomberg Markets: Asia
May 5, 2017 | Bloomberg TV

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27190032?token=f15dcbcd-9a6c-4ae7-9a94-09ab7d56f0b2
NBC Nightly News
May 6, 2017 | NBC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220212?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66
CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley
May 5, 2017 | CBS

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220215?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66
ABC World News
May 6, 2017 | ABC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220973?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66
Boom Bust
May 5, 2017 | RT News

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27221553?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66
The World Today
May 6, 2017 | CGTN

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27221554?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66
Morning Express with Robin Meade
May 8, 2017 | HLN

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27230939?token=cf0b379b-eb94-48b6-b3a2-613fd517b3a9

Traditional Coverage

Does baby powder cause cancer? Another jury says yes.

May 5, 2017 | Associated Press

By Linda A. Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict for the fourth time over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
Late Thursday, a St. Louis jury awarded $110.5 million to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She blames her illness on her use of the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
Besides Slemp's case, three other jury trials in St. Louis reached similar outcomes last year, awarding the plaintiffs $72 million, $70.1 million and $55 million, for a combined total of $307.6 million. The company says its product is safe, and it plans to appeal the latest verdict, as it has the other three.
Johnson & Johnson also has had some legal victories, including in March when a St. Louis jury rejected the claims of a Tennessee woman with ovarian and uterine cancer. Also, two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said the plaintiffs' lawyers hadn't presented reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.
The next baby powder trial is in June in St. Louis, and will be followed by another in July in California.
WHAT DO INVESTORS THINK?
Investors don't seem worried that J&J is in financial trouble, even though the company faces an estimated 2,000 similar lawsuits. J&J shares fell 72 cents, or .58 percent, to $123.10 as of midday Friday.
Johnson & Johnson, the world's biggest maker of health care products, brings in about $75 billion a year selling prescription drugs, medical devices, diagnostic equipment and consumer products ranging from baby shampoo and Aveeno skin care items to Tylenol pain reliever and Band-Aids.
Because of its size and diversified product lines, J&J is sued frequently and investors don't panic when it loses product liability lawsuits, so its stock price rarely drops much after losses. Also, the company clearly intends to keep fighting lawsuits alleging its iconic baby powder isn't safe, rather than settling suits at this point.
WHAT IS 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'sBaby Powder was launched. But it's mainly used in a variety of other products, including paint and plastics.
DOES IT CAUSE OVARIAN CANCER?
Like many questions in science, there's no definitive answer. Finding the cause of cancer is difficult. It would be unethical to do the best kind of study, 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.
While ovarian cancer is often fatal, it's relatively rare. It accounts for only about 22,400 of the 1.7 million new cases of cancer expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year.
Factors that are known to increase a women's risk of ovarian cancer include age, obesity, use of estrogen therapy after menopause, not having any children, certain genetic mutations and personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer.
WHAT RESEARCH SHOWS
The biggest studies have found no link between talcum powder applied to the genitals and ovarian cancer. But about two dozen smaller studies over three decades have mostly found a modest connection — a 20 percent to 40 percent increased risk among talc users.
However, that doesn't mean talc causes cancer. Several factors make that unlikely, and there's no proof talc, which doesn't interact with chemicals or cells, can travel up the reproductive tract, enter the ovaries and then trigger cancer.
One large study published in June 2016 that followed 51,000 sisters of breast cancer patients found genital talc users had a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, 27 percent lower than in nonusers. An analysis of two huge, long-running U.S. studies, the Women's Health Initiative and the Nurses' Health Study, showed no increased risk of ovarian cancer in talc users.
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
If there were a true link, Dr. Hal C. Lawrence III says large studies that tracked women's health for years would have verified results of the smaller ones.
"Lord knows, with the amount of powder that's been applied to babies' bottoms, we would've seen something," if talc caused cancer, said Lawrence, vice president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The National Cancer Institute's Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen says the federal agency's position is that there's not a clear connection.
"It is very hard to establish causal relationships," he said, adding, "A lot of ovarian cancers occur in women who have never used talc, and many women have used talc and not gotten ovarian cancer."
Research director Elizabeth Ward of the American Cancer Society says it is unusual to have so much discrepancy between studies. "The risk for any individual woman, if there is one, is probably very small," Ward said.

AP writer Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury Awards $110 Million to Plaintiff in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Case

May 5, 2017 | Wall Street Journal

By Anne Steele and Jonathan D. Rockoff

Johnson & Johnson was hit with a $110 million jury decision in favor of a woman who said talc in the company's baby powder gave her ovarian cancer, the latest -- and largest -- verdict yet in the litigation saga.
The company said it would quickly appeal the verdict awarded by a St. Louis jury, the fourth such losing case for J&J and Imerys SA, the talc mining company.
A J&J spokeswoman said a jury decision in the company's favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 "further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs' allegations." In the New Jersey cases, a state court judge ruled that plaintiffs' scientific experts couldn't adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.
J&J has said talc is safe to use in cosmetic products and that its baby-powder labeling is appropriate. The spokeswoman said the company has no plans to settle any related pending litigation.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," she said.
Many jury verdicts are often reduced, if not thrown out, on appeal.
J&J has argued that juries in St. Louis, in particular, have been tainted by a deluge of trial-lawyer advertisements promoting a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, but a judge refused the company's requests to move the trials.
J&J won the most recent trial in March but lost three others, which led to verdicts totaling more than $194 million that are now on appeal. Thursday's verdict in St. Louis in favor of a 62-year-old Virginia woman capped the fifth trial alleging the company's talc is tied to ovarian cancer.
Lawyers for the plaintiff said the litigation continues with "thousands more claimants across the globe."
"We don't care how many trials it takes," said James Onder, one of the trial attorneys, noting that his firm will continue to support those suing the companies "until Johnson & Johnson and Imerys stand up and do the right thing."
Talcum powder is commonly used because the mineral isn't only good at absorbing moisture but also keeps skin dry and prevents rashes.
In its natural form, talc contains some asbestos, which can "cause cancers in and around the lungs when inhaled," according to the American Cancer Society. But manufacturers have been removing asbestos from talc products since the 1970s, and evidence of a link between asbestos-free talc and cancer is "less clear," the society said.
Studies probing a connection between talc and ovarian cancer have returned mixed findings. If talc does raise the risk of ovarian cancer, the increased risk "is likely to be very small," according to the American Cancer Society.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J hit with $110 million verdict in baby powder suit

May 5, 2017 | CBS News

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) baby powder caused cancer.
The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Louis Slemp of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims, including one in October that awarded a California woman $70 million.
Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. It has since spread to her liver. She blamed her cancer on her use of the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years. About 2,000 women nationwide have filed similar suits over concerns about health damage caused by extended talcum powder use.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs' allegations.
A naturally occurring mineral, talc is mainly made up of the elements magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. It's widely used in cosmetics and personal care products to absorb moisture, cut down on friction, prevent caking and improve the product's feel.
In its natural form, talc can sometimes contain asbestos, which is known to cause cancers in and around the lungs when inhaled. But all talcum products sold in the U.S. have not contained asbestos since the 1970s.
The evidence concerning asbestos-free talcum products and cancer risk is more unclear.
The American Cancer Society notes that research looking at the potential link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer is mixed. Some studies report a slightly increased risk in women who reported using talcum powder in the genital area, while other studies found no increased risk at all.
Experts say some studies that found a small increase in risk may not be highly accurate because they relied on a person's memory of talc use many years earlier.
Dr. Francisco Xynos, a gynecologic oncologist at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis, told CBS affiliate KMOX that the scientific evidence of a cancer link is weak.
"I think the concern for the general population should be negligible, because there is no scientific proof of that," Xynos said.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization, classifies genital use of talcum-based body powder as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."

The American Cancer Society says more research is needed on the topic.

Return to headline | Return to top
Can talcum baby powder really cause cancer? Another jury says yes

May 5, 2017 | TODAY

By Maggie Fox

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict for the fourth time over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.
Late Thursday, a St. Louis jury awarded $110.5 million to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She blames her illness on her use of the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
Besides Slemp's case, three other jury trials in St. Louis reached similar outcomes last year, awarding the plaintiffs $72 million, $70.1 million and $55 million, for a combined total of $307.6 million. The company says its product is safe, and it plans to appeal the latest verdict, as it has the other three.
Johnson & Johnson also has had some legal victories, including in March when a St. Louis jury rejected the claims of a Tennessee woman with ovarian and uterine cancer. Also, two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said the plaintiffs' lawyers hadn't presented reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.
The next baby powder trial is in June in St. Louis, and will be followed by another in July in California.
Some answers to questions about talc and cancer:Can talc cause cancer?
Maybe — but there's not very much evidence to show that. According to the American Cancer Society, some talc in its natural form contains asbestos, which is known to cause cancers in and around the lungs when inhaled. "All talcum products used in homes in the United States have been asbestos-free since the 1970s," the American Cancer Society says on its website. The Food and Drug Administration says it has looked into this and hasn't found any asbestos in the products it checked.
"The evidence about asbestos-free talc, which is still widely used, is less clear," the American Cancer Society said. Some studies on animals have shown that talc can cause tumors, but others have not. Studies exploring potential links between talcum powder an ovarian cancer in women who use talc-based feminine hygiene products have also had mixed results. The most reliable types of studies, which don't rely on a woman's memory of whether she used talc, have shown no evidence talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.
"No increased risk of lung cancer has been reported with the use of cosmetic talcum powder," the American Cancer Society says.Did talc cause the plaintiff's ovarian cancer?
It's almost impossible to prove that any single person's cancer was caused by something specific. In some types of cancer, such as lung cancer, there are very clear and accepted causes, such as tobacco smoke and asbestos. In others, there may be a generally accepted link, such as sunlight or tanning beds and skin cancer, or chemicals such as benzene and blood cancers.
Ovarian cancer is not common. It affects about 21,000 U.S. women a year, and while there are clear genetic causes, doctors don't know what causes most cases. Because it's usually diagnosed too late to cure it, it kills most patients and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, says genital use of talc-based body powder is "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
"For any individual woman, if there is an increased risk, the overall increase is likely to very be small," the American Cancer Society says. "Still, talc is widely used in many products, so it is important to determine if the increased risk is real. Research in this area continues."Is there still talc in baby powder?
Johnson's baby powder contains talc, according to the company's website, but the company also offers a version made with cornstarch.
Shower to Shower, the product named in both lawsuits Johnson has lost, contains both talc and cornstarch.
Many baby and body powder products are now made using cornstarch. "There is no evidence at this time linking cornstarch powders with any form of cancer," the American Cancer Society says.

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury awards record-setting $110.5M in baby powder lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | Associated Press

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused cancer.
The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Louis Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims. Those cases, including the previous highest award of $72 million, are all under appeal.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her use of the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years. Her cancer has spread to her liver, and she was too ill to attend the trial. About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are in courts across the country over concerns about health problems caused by prolonged talcum powder use.
Johnson & Johnson, based in Brunswick, New Jersey, said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs' allegations. The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favor in March and that two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn't reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," the statement said.
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.
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. Still, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as "possibly carcinogenic."
Attorneys with Onder, Shelton, O'Leary & Peterson, the firm that handled the St. Louis cases, cited other research that began connecting talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s. They cite case studies showing that women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Return to headline | Return to top
Cancer patient wins $110M in baby powder lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson

May 5, 2017 | USA Today

By Nathan Bomey

A Missouri jury ordered health products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman for allegedly failing to disclose the cancer risk from its baby powder and another product.
Lois Slemp, 62, prevailed in the case after suing the company when she was diagnosed in 2012 with ovarian cancer. She alleged that J&J concealed the possibility that talc in its baby powder and Shower to Shower products can cause cancer.
The case deepens J&J's legal crisis connected to talc. The company has already lost several similar cases, including verdicts of $72 million, $70 million and $55 million. And it faces multiple federal class-action suits in the matter, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
After three weeks of testimony in Slemp's case, a 12-person jury deliberated for 10 hours before delivering the verdict against J&J.
Amid concerns, why do we even have baby powder anymore?
“They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny," said Ted Meadows, a Beasley Allen lawyer representing Stemp and other similar plaintiffs, in a statement. "I hope this verdict prompts J&J to acknowledge the facts and help educate the medical community and the public about the proper use of their products."
J&J, which has repeatedly denied the connection between talc and cancer and rejected the suggestion that it should have warned consumers, said in a statement that "we deeply sympathize" with anyone affected by ovarian cancer.
But the company said it would appeal the verdict, citing a separate case that it won in March and two other dismissed cases that "further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations."
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder," the company said in a statement.

J&J's stock barely budged in pre-market trading Friday, falling 0.1% to $123.87. The company sold the Shower to Shower brand several years ago,

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J ordered to pay $110 million in talc product liability trial

May 4, 2017 | Reuters

By Nate Raymond

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) on Thursday was ordered by a Missouri jury to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using of its talc-based products for feminine hygiene.
The verdict in state court in St. Louis was the largest so far to arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits accusing J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products including its well-known Johnson's Baby Powder.
Many of those lawsuits are pending in the state court in St. Louis, where the company has faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in verdicts awarding plaintiffs $195 million in total. The last trial ended in a defense verdict.
Thursday's verdict came in a lawsuit against J&J and talc supplier Imerys Talc by Lois Slemp, a resident of Virginia who is currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer initially diagnosed in 2012 returned and spread to her liver.
She claimed that she developed cancer after four decades of daily use of talc-containing products produced by J&J, specifically J&J's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and said J&J was 99 percent at fault while Imerys was just 1 percent. It awarded punitive damages of $105 million against J&J and a unit and $50,000 against Imerys.
The verdict was watched by Reuters through Courtroom View Network, which carried a web broadcast, and confirmed by a spokesman for a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
In a statement, J&J said that it sympathized with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," J&J said.
The verdict came after J&J secured its first trial win in the Missouri litigation, when a jury in March sided with the company in a lawsuit by a Tennessee woman who said she developed cancer after using Baby Powder.
That verdict broke a three-trial winning streak by plaintiffs that began with a verdict in February 2016 in which a jury ordered J&J to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer.
In May 2016, another Missouri jury awarded $55 million to a woman who said J&J's talc-powder products caused her to develop ovarian cancer. J&J was hit with a third verdict in October for $67.5 million.

The case is Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri, No. 1422-CC09326-01.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J Loses $110 Million Verdict Over Talc Cancer-Link Claim

May 4, 2017 | Bloomberg

By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St. Louis jury to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum products.
Imerys Talc America, which provided the talc to J&J, was ordered by the jury to pay about $100,000. Imerys Talc is a unit of Paris-based Imerys SA.
There are more than 3,000 lawsuits accusing the world’s largest health-care company of ignoring studies linking its baby powder and Shower to Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and failing to warn customers about the risk.
J&J lost jury verdicts of $72 million, $55 million and $70 million last year, while winning the first trial in 2017. J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is appealing the trial losses. A New Jersey state court judge last year threw out two talc cases set for trial, finding inadequate scientific support for the claims. That decision is also on appeal.
J&J will appeal Thursday’s verdict, said Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,’’ she said.
J&J’s trial win in March and the New Jersey dismissal last year “highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations,” Goodrich said.Baby Powder
The jury’s verdict is contrary to the consensus of government and professional scientific organizations that have determined talc is safe, Gwen Myers, a spokeswoman for Imerys, said in an emailed statement.

“This verdict serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer,’’ she wrote in the statement.
St. Louis plaintiff Lois Slemp, 62, said she used J&J’s baby powder and Shower to Shower talc products for more than 40 years before her diagnosis with ovarian cancer in 2012. J&J sold its Shower to Shower brand in 2012.
“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” said Ted Meadows, one of Slemp’s attorneys. “They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny.”Asbestos Claim
Slemp, whose cancer has since spread to her liver, also claims J&J talc was contaminated with asbestos, a rare allegation in these cases. A company lawyer told jurors that J&J’s products didn’t cause Slemp’s cancer and don’t contain asbestos.
The lawsuit is among more than 1,000 filed in St. Louis by women across the U.S., taking advantage of a Missouri law that allows suits to be brought there by people with no connection to the state.
The company faces trial in another talc claim in St. Louis city court next month, brought by the family of a former competitive figure skater who died of ovarian cancer. The trial after that is set for July in Los Angeles.
J&J didn’t warn women of studies linking talc to ovarian cancer to protect the company’s image, Allen Smith, Slemp’s attorney, told jurors.
“What is the corporate image of Johnson & Johnson?’’ Smith asked. “It’s a mother and baby.’’
Slemp, a retired nurse’s assistant, is undergoing chemotherapy and was too ill to attend the trial.
J&J doesn’t need to warn women about talc because there is no link, company lawyer Orlando Richmond argued at trial. The Food and Drug Administration was asked in 2014 whether a warning label should be put on baby powder, he said.
“They said ‘No.’ The science doesn’t warrant it,’’ Richmond said.
The jury didn’t agree.Punitive Damages
“I felt that J&J was withholding information about its products that was vital to women --vital to women like me,” said juror Nancy Kinney, who described herself as over 50 years old.
The jury’s verdict included $105 million in punitive damages against J&J, a figure Kinney said was derived from a formula starting with the number of years since the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified talc as a possible carcinogen. That was in 2006.
Juror Lindsay Polley said that science was increasingly pointing toward talc being a cancer risk factor.
“The J&J documents acknowledge that,” she said. “If we could, we would make them put on a warning label.”
Juror Jeremy King, 32, called the J&J documents “mindblowing.”
The $110 million verdict is the eighth-largest jury award in the U.S. so far in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The largest, for $500 million, was awarded to ZeniMax Media Inc. over its claim that the virtual reality headset maker acquired by Facebook Inc. used stolen code.
The case is Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, 1422-CC09326, Circuit Court, City of St. Louis, Missouri.

Return to headline | Return to top
St. Louis jury orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $110 million in latest talc case

May 5, 2017 | St. Louis Business Journal

By Angela Mueller

A St. Louis jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who alleges she developed cancer after more than four decades of using the company's products containing talc.
Thursday's verdict was the largest yet to hit Johnson & Johnson out of more than 2,000 lawsuits accusing the company of not adequately warning women about the potential cancer risks of using talc-based products such as Johnson's Baby Powder, Reuters reports.
The suit was brought by 61-year-old Lois Slemp of Wise, Virginia, who alleged the use of Johnson & Johnson's talc products for feminine hygiene led to the development of her cancer. Talc supplier Imerys Talc America also was named as a defendant in the case.
The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages, $105 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and $500,000 in punitive damages against Imerys.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it planned to appeal the ruling.
In March, a Missouri court sided with Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc in a lawsuit by a Tennessee resident who said talc products caused her ovarian cancer. That decision came after three consecutive verdicts in St. Louis against Johnson & Johnson that awarded $197 million total to plaintiffs.
A St. Louis jury in October awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit against the company, alleging its baby powder caused her ovarian cancer. Previous juries awarded $55 million to a South Dakota woman and $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died of ovarian cancer.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J Hit With $110M Verdict In Latest Mo. Talc Cancer Trial

May 4, 2017 | Law360

By Daniel Siegal

A Missouri jury hit Johnson & Johnson with a $110 million verdict late Thursday in a woman's suit alleging the company's talcum powder products caused her ovarian tumors, handing the company its largest trial loss yet in talc litigation in the state.

After over a full day of deliberations following the 17-day trial in St. Louis, the jury returned at roughly 6:30 p.m. on Thursday with a verdict in favor of plaintiff Lois Slemp on all of her claims, including conspiracy, breach of implied warranty and negligence against J&J, its Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. unit, and its talc supplier, co-defendant Imerys Talc America Inc. Virginia resident Slemp had alleged she developed ovarian cancer in August 2012 after using J&J's baby powder and Shower to Shower products on her genital area on a daily basis for forty years.

The jury found the defendants' conduct warranted punitive damages, and awarded Slemp $66 million from J&J, $39 million from J&J Consumer and $50,000 from Imerys.

The jury also awarded Slemp $5.4 million in compensatory damages, and ascribed 99 percent of the fault to the two J&J entities, and one percent of the fault to Imerys.

Slemp's attorney Ted Meadows of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC touted the verdict in a Thursday announcement, saying he hopes the verdict pushes J&J to "acknowledge the facts" and help inform the public about the proper use of its products.

“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Meadows added. “They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny."

Johnson & Johnson released a statement on Thursday saying it will appeal the verdict, citing its victory in the immediately preceding talc trial in St. Louis, as well as a New Jersey state court judge's dismissal of two suits in that state show that there is enough "credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs' allegations."

“We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer," the company added. "We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”

On Wednesday, Slemp's attorney Allen Smith of The Smith Law Firm had urged the jury during his closing argument to punish J&J for its “reprehensible” conduct, arguing that the defendants had to be held responsible not just for failing to warn consumers about the link between between talc and ovarian cancer, but for pressuring regulators like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to keep the public in the dark.

Smith had said that J&J is a $70 billion company, and noted that one-quarter of one-percent of that value would be $175 million, before asking the jury to award punitive damages large enough for the company to feel them.

Slemp's trial, which was presided over by St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Rex Burlison, was the fifth such trial over the alleged link between J&J's talcum powder products and ovarian cancer to head to be completed in the city. The company had won the most recent trial in the talc litigation, but was hit with verdicts totaling over $200 million in the first several cases about the talc-ovarian cancer link to go to trial in St. Louis.

The first St. Louis talc trial centered on the ovarian cancer death of Jacqueline Fox. In February 2016, jurors awarded Fox's estate $72 million. In the second trial, plaintiff Gloria Ristesund was awarded $55 million in May. Plaintiff Deborah Giannecchini was awarded $70 million in October. Imerys was found liable only in the Giannecchini trial.

In March, however, J&J broke its losing streak convincing a St. Louis jury that plaintiff Nora Daniels’ ovarian cancer was not connected to her daily use of talcum powder over several decades.

Further St. Louis talc trials are set for June and July. The first California trial is set for July.

Slemp is represented by Allen R. Smith Jr. of The Smith Law Firm and Ted Meadows, Danielle Mason and David Dearing of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC.

J&J is represented by Orlando Richmond of Butler Snow LLP and Paul Schmidt and Phyllis Jones of Covington & Burling LLP. Imerys is represented by Jane E. Bockus of Dykema Cox Smith and Kenneth Ferguson of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.

The case is Lois Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson et al., case number 1422-CC09326-01, in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri.

For more coverage of this trial, visit Courtroom View Network.

Return to headline | Return to top
$110.5 million verdict for plaintiff in fifth talcum powder cancer trial in St. Louis

May 4, 2017 | St. Louis Dispatch

By Joel Currier

A St. Louis Circuit Court jury returned a $110.5 million verdict Thursday for a Virginia woman in a lawsuit claiming Johnson & Johnson's products caused her ovarian cancer.
Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Va., claimed her use of the company's Shower-to-Shower and Baby Powder products over four decades as well as asbestos particles found inside her caused her cancer.
Slemp, a mother of two grown sons, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The cancer has since spread to her liver.
The verdict included $5.4 million in actual damages, and $105.4 million in punitive damages, said Jim Onder, an attorney for the plaintiff.
“We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer. We will begin the appeals process following today’s verdict and believe a jury decision in our favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 by a state court judge who ruled that plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer, further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations," said a statement from Johnson & Johnson after the verdict. "We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
St. Louis jury verdicts in three cases totaled $197 million against the company last year. Last month, a St. Louis jury found in favor of the company. About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are pending.
The trial began the first week of April; jury deliberations began Wednesday afternoon.
St. Louis juries in the earlier cases found that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn the public of studies linking its talc-containing products such as Shower-to-Shower and Johnson’s Baby Powder to ovarian cancer.
Talcum powder products contain the mineral talc that can absorb moisture and prevent chafing and rash. It is used in eye shadow, blush and some chewing gums as well as baby powder. Some talc naturally contains asbestos, which is known to cause lung cancer. Asbestos has been removed from household talcum products since the 1970s.
Defendants in the suit included Johnson & Johnson, its subsidiary J&J Consumer Companies and Imerys Talc America.

Return to headline | Return to top
BREAKING: J&J Slammed With $110M Verdict After Jury Finds Talc Powder Caused Woman’s Cancer

May 4, 2017 | Courtroom View Network

By David Siegal

St. Louis — A Missouri state court jury on Thursday awarded over $110 million to a woman claiming she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder-based products on her genitals for decades, marking the largest verdict yet after five previous trials.
The award comes after J&J scored their first talc-related defense verdict in March in St. Louis, where thousands of additional cases are pending and involves a case selected for trial by the defense. A major plaintiff’s victory under those circumstances suggests attorneys representing women bringing similar claims will likely press ahead with additional trials scheduled for later this year.
Jurors deliberated for just over a full day after first hearing opening statements on April 11. They awarded 62-year-old Virginia resident Lois Slemp $5.4 million in compensatory damages and $105 million in punitive damages. Imerys Talc America, J&J’s talc supplier, was also assigned one percent responsibility and hit with a $50,000 portion of the punitive verdict.
Slemp, who used products like Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for decades, is currently undergoing treatment after her ovarian cancer spread to her liver. Her case was given expedited consideration due to her declining health.
Courtroom View Network webcast and recorded the full trial gavel-to-gavel.
In a statement released after the verdict was delivered, Slemp’s attorney Ted Meadows of the law firm Beasley Allen accused the defendants of putting profits over people.
“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Meadows said. “I hope this verdict prompts J&J to acknowledge the facts and help educate the medical community and the public about the proper use of their products.”
J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said the company sympathized with women suffering from ovarian cancer but would immediately begin the process of appealing Thursday’s verdict.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” Goodrich said.
Imerys spokeswoman Gwen Myers told CVN the company is disappointed in the verdict by remains confident that numerous regulatory agencies have deemed talc to be safe.
“This verdict serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer and help lead us to a cure for this tragic disease,” Myers said.
Both Goodrich and Myers cited the fact a New Jersey judge last year threw out testimony from key experts that have testified for plaintiffs in St. Louis about the supposed links between cancer and talc powder. That decision, which is being appealed, scuttled what was to be the first talc trial in in the state just days before it was scheduled to begin.
During the trial Slemp’s attorneys accused J&J and Imerys of failing to warn consumers about the potential cancer risks from talc-containing products despite being aware for decades of numerous scientific studies suggesting the mineral is a carcinogen. J&J and Imerys maintained those arguments were based on flawed and outdated science, and that talc is no more dangerous than alcohol or red meat, neither of which carries a cancer warning label.
The award is worth nearly half of all the money awarded to date in St. Louis in talc-related cases. Three trials in 2016 resulted in plaintiff verdicts of roughly $72 million, $55 million and $70 million. The lone talc trial to date in federal court resulted in a finding of negligence by J&J but no awarding of damages.
The trial took place before Judge Rex Burlison, who also presided over the four previous state court trials. Missouri law makes it possible for out-of-state plaintiffs to file claims within the state, and thousands of talc lawsuits from women all over the country have been centralized in St. Louis, making it the largest hub for talc cases in the country. Next month Judge Burlison will preside over another talc trial that will involve claims from five plaintiffs being heard concurrently. CVN will also be webcasting that trial.
While highly visible verdicts like this one have caused the number of talc lawsuits across the country to explode, none has yet survived a challenge on appeal. On May 10 the Missouri Court of Appeals will hold oral arguments challenging the first talc verdict reached last year in St. Louis, when jurors awarded Jacqueline Fox $72 million. CVN plans to webcast those proceedings, too.
In June the judge overseeing a consolidated docket of talc cases in California state court will convene a weeklong series of hearings to determine the admissibility of expert testimony in a bellwether trial scheduled for July. That same month another trial is scheduled to begin before Judge Burlison. Another trial that had been scheduled for July in Washington D.C. has now been continued with no new date set, according to court records.
Slemp is represented by Ted Meadows, Danielle Mason and David Dearing of Beasley Allen and by Allen Smith of the Smith Law Firm PLLC.
J&J is represented by Orlando Richmond of Butler Snow LLP and by Paul Schmidt and Phyllis Jones of Covington & Burling LLP.
Imerys is represented by Jane Bockus of Dykema Cox Smith and by Kenneth Ferguson of Gordon Rees.
The case is captioned Valerie Swann, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. case number 1422 CC09326-01 in Missouri’s 22nd Judicial Circuit Court

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J Takes $110M Hit in Talc Trial, Adding to String of Losses

May 4, 2017 | National Law Journal

By Amanda Bronstad

Johnson & Johnson was hit with a record $110 million verdict Thursday in the fifth trial over the safety of its talcum powder.
After more than a day in deliberations, a jury in Missouri state court came back with the verdict, which includes $105 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and $50,000 against talc supplier Imerys Talc America Inc., according to video coverage provided by Courtroom View Network.
The defeat breaks a winning streak for Johnson & Johnson, which won its first talc trial earlier this year and, on Tuesday, scored a defense verdict in the first bellwether trial over blood thinner Xarelto. The verdict also surpasses the sums awarded by other Missouri juries, who last year came out with verdicts of $55 million, $70 million and $72 million.
Missing from court this time was Johnson & Johnson’s defense team in the prior talc trial, Bart Williams and Manuel Cachán of Proskauer Rose in Los Angeles. Orlando Richmond of Butler Snow’s Jackson, Mississippi, office handled this month’s trial along with Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Covington & Burling Washington, D.C., partners Phyllis Jones and Paul Schmidt.
Lois Slemp, 61, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after four decades of using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and Shower to Shower products.
Plaintiffs attorneys, led by Allen Smith of The Smith Law Firm and Ted Meadows of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles in Montgomery, Alabama, told the jury that the defendants failed to tell the public about a known scientific link between talcum powder use and ovarian cancer despite 30 years of studies and evidence.
Unlike in prior trials, Smith said that asbestos—not just talcum powder—was found in Slemp’s ovarian tissue.
The talc litigation consists of nearly two dozen cases in Missouri state court, where more than 1,000 claims are pending. Another 200 individual suits are currently pending in a federal multidistrict litigation proceeding in New Jersey, and about 350 lawsuits have been filed in state courts in California, New Jersey and Delaware.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110M to woman in talc products case

May 5, 2017 | Pittsburgh Action News 4

On Thursday, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $110 million to a Virginia woman, Lois Slemp, after she said her ovarian cancer developed after decades of using the company's talc-based products, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit involved a talc supplier, but the jury said Johnson & Johnson was 99 percent at fault, the news agency reported.
The company plans to appeal and also release studies to show the safety of the company's baby powder products, according to the report.
According to the Food & Drug Administration, science literature going back to the 1960s has suggested a possible association between the use of powders containing talc and the incident of ovarian cancer.
The FDA also says that these "these studies have not conclusively demonstrated such a link, or if such a link existed, what risk factors might be involved."

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury Finds Against Johnson & Johnson in Baby Powder Lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | The Street

By Amanda Schiavo

A Jury in St. Louis awarded a Virginia woman a settlement of $110.5 million in one of several lawsuits brought against health care industry giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , in relation to the alleged connection between the company's baby powder product and cancer.
Plaintiff Lois Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, and cites the use of Johnson & Johnson's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years as the cause of her illness.
There are about 2,000 state and federal lawsuits in courts across the U.S. relating to health concerns regarding prolonged talcum use, the Associated Press reported. St. Louis juries have already decided in favor of complainants in three other cases, awarding a total of $197 million.
Johnson & Johnson is standing behind its product.

"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," the company said, AP noted.

Return to headline | Return to top
Verdict: Ovarian Cancer Patient Gets Millions from Baby Powder Company

May 5, 2017 | CBN News

By Lorie Johnson

Health products giant Johnson & Johnson lost another lawsuit this week to a woman who claimed their talc-based products caused her ovarian cancer and should have displayed a warning label.
A jury awarded 62-year-old Lois Slemp a whopping 110 million dollars, making it the eighth largest jury award of any kind in the U.S. so far in 2017, and the largest of the four awards specifically to victims of ovarian cancer linked to Johnson & Johnson's baby powder products. The company plans to appeal these verdicts and already won one suit against it.
Johnson & Johnson is facing pending lawsuits filed by more than 2,000 people, many of which are class-action suits.
At issue is whether the company was negligent for not posting warning labels on its talc-based products indicating they could cause ovarian cancer.
Slemp used J&J's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder for about 40 years. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, which spread to her liver. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and was too sick to appear in court.
Jurors said court documents indicated J&J tried to hide evidence their products could be dangerous, according to Bloomberg. "I felt that J&J was withholding information about its products that was vital to women -- vital to women like me," said juror Nancy Kinney, who described herself as over 50 years old.
In 2006 The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified talc as a "possibly carcinogenic." Talc is a mineral found in nature and absorbs moisture. Talc naturally contains asbestos, which causes cancer. This could be especially problematic if talc is used on genitals, where it could reach a woman's ovaries.
Another juror, Lindsay Polley, said she believed the science pointed toward talc being a cancer risk factor.
"The J&J documents acknowledge that," she said. "If we could, we would make them put on a warning label."
A third juror, 32-year-old Jeremy King echoed those sentiments, calling the J&J documents "mind blowing."
However, Johnson & Johnson is fighting back against claims that their talc-based products need warning labels.
They point-out that asbestos-free talc has been used in their products since the 1970s. They say the studies on it are inconclusive, adding that the studies that found asbestos-free talc is linked to cancer are biased and the other studies found no link.
Furthermore, during the trial, J&J lawyer Orlando Richmond argued that in 2014 the Food and Drug Administration was asked whether a warning label should be put on baby powder.
"They said 'No.' The science doesn't warrant it,'' Richmond said.
Ovarian cancer is a rare but deadly form of cancer. About 22,000 women are diagnosed with it annually and 14,000 die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. Currently there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer.
Symptoms include:
abdominal bloating, pressure, and pain
abnormal fullness after eating
difficulty eating

an increase in urination

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Must Pay $110 Million in Latest Baby Powder Case

May 5, 2017 | Investorplace

By William White

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is being forced to pay $110 million in the latest baby powder case against it.
This baby powder case comes from Lois Slemp, a 62-year-old woman from Virginia. Slemp claims that she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder for years. She also claims to have used the company’s Shower to Shower Powder.
The Missouri court has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay Slemp $5.4 million in compensatory damages and $105 million in punitive damages. JNJ says that it sympathizes with Slemp, but says that it will be appealing the verdict.
Slemp is currently going through chemotherapy. She first suffered from ovarian cancer in 2012 and it went into remission. However, now it has returned and is spreading to her liver. Her’s is only one of about 2,400 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder products, reports BBC News.
This isn’t the first time that Johnson & Johnson has lost a court case over its baby powder. The first one occurred early last year when the family of a woman that died from ovarian cancer sued the company. They were awarded $72 million in that case.
The next case to hit Johnson & Johnson was from a woman named Gloria Ristesund, whose cancer is in remission. She won $55 million from the company in her lawsuit. This happened in mid-2016.
Johnson & Johnson was also ordered to pay $70 million in another case concerning its talcum power products. However, despite these four losses, the company is still arguing that there is no connection between its baby powder products and cancer.

JNJ stock was down slightly as of noon Friday.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J Slammed with $110 Million Verdict in 5th Talcum Powder Lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | Daily Horney

By Ray Simon

Plaintiff in the case was 62-year-old Louis Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after using Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower body powder for more than four decades. Her cancer has spread to her liver, and she was too ill to attend the trial.
Slemp also claims that J&J’s talc products were contaminated with asbestos, a rare allegation in these cases. Imerys Talc America, which provided the talc to J&J, was ordered to pay Slemp about $100,000.
J&J was hit with verdicts of $72 million, $55 million and $70 million in talcum powder lawsuits last year, while winning its first trial in 2017. The company is appealing the losses. About 2,000 other similar complaints are pending in courts across the U.S.
The suits allege that talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer in women who apply the products around their genitals for feminine hygiene.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” the company said.
The $110 million verdict is the eighth-largest jury award in the U.S. so far this year, according to Bloomberg. The largest, for $500 million, was awarded to ZeniMax Media Inc. over its claim that the virtual reality headset maker acquired by Facebook Inc. used stolen code.

J&J faces trial in another talcum powder lawsuit in St. Louis next month, filed by the family of a former competitive figure skater who died of ovarian cancer.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay Another $110 Million In Ovarian Cancer Case

May 5, 2017 | Refinery 29

By Kasandra Brabaw

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay a record $110 million to a Virginia woman who claims the company's baby powder caused her ovarian cancer, the Associated Press reports. This is the third lawsuit the company has lost in a little more than a year.
Per a St. Louis jury's decision, Johnson & Johnson owes this money to 62-year-old Louis Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. Slemp is just one of many people who blame their diagnoses on decades of using J&J's baby powder to control vaginal odor.
Talc, an ingredient in the baby powder, has been linked to a greater risk of ovarian cancer when used on a person's genitals, although the connection is still inconclusive. There are currently about 2,000 lawsuits in both state and federal courts claiming that long-time use of talc powder causes health problems, according to the Associated Press.
Slemp and others who have filed lawsuits against J&J claim that the company knew it's talcum powder could raise ovarian cancer risk and did nothing to warn customers.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement on their website that while they sympathize with the women who have ovarian cancer and who have filed lawsuits, they plan to appeal the decision, as there are two previous cases that ordered the company to pay damages.
"We will begin the appeals process following today’s verdict and believe a jury decision in our favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 by a state court judge who ruled that plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer, further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations," J&J said in the statement.
Last February, the company was ordered to pay $72 million to the family of Jacqueline Fox, who said she used baby powder on her genitals for 35 years before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and dying at 62. The same court ordered the company to pay another $55 million to Gloria Ristesund, who also used baby powder on her genitals and had to have a hysterectomy due to her ovarian cancer.
Women have been told for generations that sprinkling baby powder in their underwear could help control vaginal odor (not that it needs to be controlled), which may be why people such as Slemp, Fox, and Ristesund had been putting Johnson & Johnson's powder on their genitals for decades.

Although reports have found no absolute proof that talc causes ovarian cancer, those who have filed lawsuits rely on case studies that claim talc, when used on genitals, increases ovarian cancer risk by up to 40%, the AP reports.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson Faces $110 Million Verdict After Woman Claims Baby Powder Gave Her Cancer

May 5, 2017 | Good Housekeeping

By Lyndsey Matthews

A Missouri state jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who claims that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using the company's talc-based products for decades.
Reuters reports that Lois Slemp says that using talc-based products including Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder for four decades caused her to develop ovarian cancer in 2012.
Slemp was awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and $105 million of punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and $50,000 against talc supplier Imerys Talc by the jury, who found Johnson & Johnson 99% at fault and Imerys just 1% at fault. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy after the cancer returned and spread to her liver.
There have been 2,400 lawsuits that accuse Johnson & Johnson of not properly warning consumers about the potential dangers of using talc-based products for feminine hygiene, according to Reuters. This is the largest verdict to come out of those lawsuits so far, which have included a $72 million verdict in February 2016 as well as a $55 million verdict in May 2016 and a $70 million verdict last October.
While the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers the use talc for feminine hygiene as "possibly carcinogenic to humans," Johnson & Johnson continues to defend the safety of the use of talc in their products since the link between talc and cancer has yet to be specifically determined by any study. "We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury Awards Woman $110.5M In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | Consumerist

By Ashlee Kieler

More than a year after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in the state awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in a similar lawsuit.
Thursday’s jury ruling is the fourth in a string of cases involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson ignored a possible link between cancer and its talcum-based products.
The most recent case, the Associated Press reports, involves 62-year-old Lois Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012.
According to the lawsuit, the woman claims her illness was caused by more than 40 years of using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products, including baby powder. She alleges that Johnson & Johnson concealed the possibility that its baby powder and other talcum-based products could cause cancer.
The woman’s lawyers cited much of the same research used in previous cases. The studies showed that woman who used the products had a greater risk of being diagnosed with cancer.
Studies going back to 1971 have suggested this link exists. In fact, at least one lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson cites a 1982 study on the issue that found a 92% increased risk in ovarian cancer with women who used talc-based products around their genitals, the researcher behind that study directly advised a J&J doctor to place a warning label on their products.
Johnson & Johnson and other companies have continued to defend the use of talcum powder in feminine hygiene products; however, the condom industry halted the mineral’s use in the mid-1990s amid the growing concerns about its link to ovarian cancer risk.
Johnson & Johnson tells the AP that it will appeal the $110.5 million verdict, noting that it disputed the scientific evidence behind the case.
The company has previously appealed three cases, including the $72 million verdict handed down last year. Those cases remain under appeal.
Thursday’s case is just one of around 1,200 cases currently being pursued against J&J in courts in Missouri and New Jersey.

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman Awarded $110 Million in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | The Cut

By Lisa Ryan

Johnson & Johnson was hit with its largest jury verdict yet in the ongoing lawsuits alleging its baby powder causes ovarian cancer, as a St. Louis jury on Thursday awarded a woman a record-setting $110.5 million. Prior to this, the largest award to an individual plaintiff in the multiple suits over the company’s baby powder had been $72 million.
Thursday’s jury award for Virginia woman Louis Slemp, 62, comes after three previous St. Louis juries doled out a total of $197 million to plaintiffs making similar claims, the Associated Press reports. Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum-containing products for more than 40 years, according to the lawsuit. Her cancer spread to her liver, and she was too ill to attend the trial as a result.

There are currently around 2,000 lawsuits pending in state and federal courts over alleged health problems stemming from prolonged talcum-powder use, the AP reports. Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it would appeal the decision, and that it would “continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman With Ovarian Cancer Receives $110 Million From Johnson & Johnson For Baby Powder Lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | Romper

By James Rhodes Cook

A jury in Missouri ordered the Johnson & Johnson company to pay a large sum to a Virginia woman for allegedly failing to disclose the cancer risk associated with its baby powder and another product produced by the health product company. The woman with ovarian cancer received $110.5 million from Johnson & Johnson for the lawsuit, which is not the first of its kind.
USA Today reported that Lois Slemp, 62, won the case after suing the company when she was diagnosed in 2012 with ovarian cancer. She claimed that Johnson & Johnson concealed the possibility that talc in its baby powder, as well as its Shower to Shower products, can cause cancer.
Romper reached out to Johnson & Johnson and Slemp for comment. Carol Goodrich, Global Media Relations, Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc. stated:We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer. We will begin the appeals process following today’s verdict and believe a jury decision in our favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 by a state court judge who ruled that plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer, further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations. We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.
ABC News reported that most research has found a weak link or no link between ovarian cancer and baby powder being used for feminine hygiene. Most major health groups, ABC News reported, have declared talc harmless. FollowKelsey Ertle @kelseyErtle1
Mamaw looks at the baby powder in the bathroom "don't put that in your p**** you can get cancer" thank you mamaw12:05 AM - 11 Apr 2017 · Hendron, KY Retweets 66 likes
However, the American Cancer society reported that the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classifies genital use of talc as "possibly carcinogenic" to humans. But ACS/Cancer.org also reported that, "It is not clear if consumer products containing talcum powder increase cancer risk," and that studies of the personal use of talcum powder have resulted in mixed conclusions.
USA Today reported that this is not the first case of this kind that the company has lost. Past verdicts included awards of $72 million, $70 million, and $55 million. Johnson & Johnson faces several federal class-action suits in the matter, according to USA Today.
Consumerist reported that at least one lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson cited a 1982 study on the issue of a link between talcum-based powders and cancer. That site reported that the study found a 92 percent increased risk of ovarian cancer among women who used talc-based products around their genitals.
But the American Cancer Society reported that there have been a lot of studies in women that researched the possible link between talcum powder and cancer of the ovaries, and that findings have been very mixed. The organization made the point that "these types of studies can be biased because they often rely on a person’s memory of talc use many years earlier."
As Cancer.org reported, research of this particular topic and link continue. But following three weeks of testimony in Slemp's case, ABC News reported that a 12-person jury spent 10 hours deliberating before delivering the verdict against Johnson & Johnson.
In a statement provided to Romper, Ted Meadows, a Beasley Allen lawyer and co-lead counsel representing Slemp, said of Johnson & Johnson:They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny. I hope this verdict prompts J&J to acknowledge the facts and help educate the medical community and the public about the proper use of their products.
But Johnson & Johnson rejected the suggestion that it should have warned consumers of the risk. And in response to Romper seeking comment on the case, Ernie W. Knewitz, vice president of media relations for Johnson & Johnson, sent a link entitled "4 Important Facts About the Safety of Talc" along with their official statement, presumably to show that the company has made an effort to advise consumers about the use of talc and facts about the mineral.
ABC News reported that the suit also named supplier Imerys Talc, which was held liable for $50,000 in this case. That supplier has been held accountable in only one other talcum case. In a statement, the company stated that it is, "confident in the consensus of government agencies and professional scientific organizations that have reviewed the safety of talc."
Unfortunately, Slemp's cancer has spread to her liver, and she was too sick to attend the trial. But the Associated Press reported that an audiotape of her deposition testimony was played for it. In it, she reportedly said: “I trusted Johnson & Johnson. Big mistake.”
The link between ovarian cancer and the use of talc is unclear, though most studies show a low risk when baby powder is used for feminine hygiene. In this case, the jury that heard Slemp's case felt that she had an argument and gave her the win. To learn more about ways to stay healthy and maybe reduce your own risk of cancer, see the American Cancer Society's guide to staying healthy.

Return to headline | Return to top
$110M award in talcum powder case is largest award in suits claiming link to ovarian cancer

May 5, 2017 | ABA Journal

By Debra Cassens Weiss

Jurors in St. Louis have awarded $110 million to a Virginia woman who claimed talcum powder sold by Johnson & Johnson caused her ovarian cancer.
The verdict is the largest so far in litigation over the cancer link, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Bloomberg, Reuters and Law.com (sub. req.). Three prior trials resulted in verdicts of $55 million, $70 million and $72 million, while the company scored a win in a trial earlier this year.
The plaintiff is Lois Slemp, 61, who had used Johnson & Johnson products for four decades before her cancer diagnosis in 2012.
The defendants were Johnson & Johnson, found to be 99 percent at fault, and talc supplier Imerys Talc, found to be 1 percent at fault. The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages. The verdict included punitive damages of $105 million against Johnson & Johnson and $50,000 against Imerys.
About 2,400 lawsuits are pending, according to Reuters.
Johnson & Johnson plans to appeal. The company noted that two New Jersey cases were dismissed last September after a judge found scientific experts couldn’t support the alleged cancer link. A lawyer for the company told trial jurors that the Food and Drug Administration had found no need for a warning label because the science didn’t support it.
Imerys said in a statement that the government and scientific organizations have concluded that talc is safe, and the verdict undermines scientific efforts to find the true

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury Awards Virginia Woman $110.5M in Baby Powder Case

May 5, 2017 | Courthouse News Service

A jury in St. Louis awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer.
The ruling Thursday night is the fourth jury verdict to go against Johnson & Johnson in cases in which women claim to have developed cancer after using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene purposes.
In the most recent previous case, in February 2016, a jury awarded Jacqueline Fox, of Birmingham, Alabama, $72 million, finding the company guilty of negligence, conspiracy and fraud. All together, juries have award plaintiffs $197 million to women who say they were harmed by Johnson & Johnson’s talc products.
All three awards are now being appealed.
The plaintiff in the just concluded trial Louis Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She blames her illness on her use of the company’s talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
Her cancer has spread to her liver, and she was too ill to attend the trial. About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are in courts across the country over concerns about health problems caused by prolonged talcum powder use.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it would appeal this jury verdict as well, and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs’ allegations.
The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favor in March and that two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn’t reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” the statement said.

Return to headline | Return to top
Bombshell claim: Baby powder causes cancer

May 6, 2017 | Building a Better World News

By Dan Taylor

Giant corporation Johnson & Johnson has been dealt a huge blow after a jury awarded a multi-million dollar verdict over whether talc in its baby power causes ovarian cancer when it is used for feminine hygiene.
The St. Louis jury awarded $110.5 million to 62-year-old Lois Slemp of Wise, Va., who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer back in 2012 — an ailment she believes was caused by the use of talcum powder products for more than 40 years.
Three other jury trials in St. Louis went about the same way, with plaintiffs being award with tens of millions of dollars in damage for a combined total of $307.6 million.
Here’s a statement from law firm Zamler, Mellen, & Shiffman, personal injury attorneys, on the possible connection betwee talcum powder and ovarian cancer.
Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer
Home Services Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer
Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer
Talcum powder is a popular choice for many women who use it daily for feminine hygiene. Yet this trusted household product may be responsible for causing a serious and deadly form of ovarian cancer in thousands of women each year.
The link between Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder ovarian cancer dates back as early as 1971, when a study of ovarian cancer patients revealed talc particles in their ovarian tissues. Johnson & Johnson talc mining companies have argued against these findings and managed to keep their dangerous product on the shelves for 40 more years without restrictions or warnings of any kind.
Research suggests that talcum powder can contribute to cancer in the ovaries if particles enter the body through the vagina. One review of data reported in the medical journal Cancer Protection Research indicated that women who regularly use talc-based powder for feminine hygiene might increase their risk of ovarian cancer by about 41 percent.
If you or a family member were diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using a talcum-based Johnson & Johnson powder product, such as Shower to Shower or Johnson’s Baby Powder, for feminine hygiene, contact Zamler, Mellen & Shiffman, P.C., today for your fee consultation.
The Call is Free, The Advice is Priceless! There is No Fee Unless You Get Compensation!
We won’t charge you a single dime unless we are successful in obtaining compensation for your injuries.

Return to headline | Return to top
Latest Talcum Powder Lawsuit Results in $110 Million Verdict

May 7, 2017 | Consumer Safety

By Jonas Sickler

When asked if Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products were to blame for another woman’s ovarian cancer diagnosis, a fourth jury said yes. The $110 million verdict was announced on Thursday, May 4 in St. Louis, and it marks the largest settlement to date against Johnson & Johnson over it’s Shower to Shower and Baby Powder products.
Verdicts Now Exceed $300 Million
There have been 5 talcum powder lawsuit verdicts handed down over the past 18 months deciding whether talc increases ovarian cancer risk when regularly used for feminine hygiene. In 2016, three consecutive juries in St. Louis found that Johnson & Johnson should be held liable for not warning women about the possible risks of using their products. These lawsuits produced settlements of $72 million, $70.1 million and $55 million, and thousands of cases are still in the system.
The tide seemed to be turning for the baby powder manufacturer in March of 2017 when a jury found in its favor, but just 2 months later Lois Slemp ended the one-win streak, bringing the total cost of settlements against J&J to $307.6 million.
St. Louis has been a thorn in Johnson & Johnson’s side with it’s onslaught of talc verdicts. Due to a legal loophole in Missouri, plaintiffs with no connection to the state are allowed to file lawsuits there. Because of this fact, J&J has been attempting to move talc lawsuits out of the state.What’s Next for Johnson & Johnson?
Even after this latest verdict, Johnson & Johnson refuses to admit that their talc-based products are dangerous to women, and they plan to appeal the decision. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,’’ said said Carol Goodrich, a spokeswoman for J&J.
Given this stance, it seems the company will not recall it’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products, continuing to sell them to women without any warning labels. But will these products suffer from so much bad publicity that the brand will eventually discontinue them over lackluster sales? This could be the best-case scenario for both consumers and Johnson & Johnson. It would rid store shelves of potentially harmful products, while at the same time giving J&J an “out” for pulling it’s products without admitting fault.
So it’s not that talc is in itself harmful, but there are definitely situations in which using it could put women at risk. Until scientific proof surfaces of exactly HOW talc causes ovarian cancer, women should avoid using talc-containing products around their genitals. This includes feminine products dusted with talc, as well as bath bombs that use the ingredient. To be safe, seek out products that use cornstarch, rice or arrowroot powder instead.
If you believe that regular talcum powder use may have lead to your ovarian cancer diagnosis, we urge you to click the link below and fill out our contact form to get in touch with a lawyer who can help you understand your legal rights as a consumer.

Return to headline | Return to top
Louis Slemp, 62, Wins Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson After Accusations Of Baby Powder Resulting In Cancer

May 7, 2017 | South Texas News

By Jeff Scott

A woman from Virginia, who accused Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder results in cancer, won the case as St Louis court gave her $110.5 million.
The jury ruled for Louis Slemp, a 62-year-old woman who filed the lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson on Thursday. Slemp lives in Wise town in Virginia.Cancer
Slemp discovered that she has ovarian cancer back in 2012. That is when she started to blame Johnson & Johsnon. Slemp confirmed her use of their talcum powder products for over 40 years. Hence she blamed the company for her illness.
Since her cancer expanded and reached the liver, Slemp couldn’t attend one of the trials but in an audio tape she recorded as a testimony, Slemp said: “I trusted Johnson & Johnson. Big mistake.”
On Friday, Jim Onder, one of Slemp’s lawyers expressed how “thrilled” she was to hear the award news on the phone. Onder added that Slemp hoped that her case would send a message. He also confirmed that she is very ill and cannot talk to reporters.
Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical company, stated that it would prove Slemp wrong. The company is hopeful as it won a St. Louis Jury in March on top of two cases in New Jersey whose judge couldn’t find any evidence to accuse the pharmaceutical company.Comments
“We are preparing for additional trials this year, and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.” Johnson & Johnson affirmed.
This jury is the third one; there are other juries who awarded $197 million to petitioners who have the same accusations as Slemp. These cases are still under appeal. On a national scale, there are around 2,000 state as well as federal lawsuits in court blaming the use talcum powder for causing health issues.

Return to headline | Return to top
Mom Got Cancer After Using Johnson & Johnson for 40 Years. Now They're Paying for It, Big Time

May 6, 2017 | Independent Journal Review

By Angie Mcpherson

Lois Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. It has since spread to her liver.
According to CBS News, Slemp had used Johnson & Johnson products as a feminine hygiene solution for more than 40 years. The Virginia mom of two sued the company for not adequately warning her about the dangers of using talcum powder — and she won.
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay the most damaging amount yet: $110 million. This isn't the first suit brought against the company for causing ovarian cancer, and it appears it won't be the last.
According to the BBC, currently more than 2,400 cases have been submitted against Johnson & Johnson.
The company issued a statement after the verdict was announced:
“We deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer. We will begin the appeals process following today’s verdict and believe a jury decision in our favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 by a state court judge who ruled that plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer, further highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations. We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
In an interview with Carol Goodrich, a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, Independent Journal Review asked if families should use their talcum powder while the company continues to investigate the safety of its product.
Goodrich directed IJR to a company web page that highlights the company's interpretation of the data submitted by research projects of talcum powder.
The website doesn't directly tell customers whether or not it is safe to use their talcum powder, but it does give an overview of its research.
At the top of the web page, Tara Glasgow, vice president of research at the company, wrote:
“We are all mothers, fathers, and consumers ourselves; we understand and take seriously our responsibility to give you the information you need to make your own decisions.”
According to Johnson & Johnson, the scientific community has not found a direct link between talcum and ovarian cancer:
“While some case-control studies have shown a statistical association between ovarian cancer and powder users, this association is not found in large, prospective studies. One potential reason that some case-control studies have found slight statistical associations is the potential for an overestimation of the true association due to recall bias, because the participants are aware of their ovarian cancer status when reporting powder exposure.”
But the senior lawyer and founder of the firm that represented Slemp and three other cases against Johnson & Johnson, Jim Onder, says there is overwhelming evidence that the company has known about the risk of cancer for years.
In an interview with Independent Journal Review, Onder said that internal emails confirm that Johnson & Johnson is intentionally using a strategy of confusion by employing similar tactics that tobacco and asbestos companies used in their campaigns:
“Their internal documents say 'it's time to create more confusion,' 'delay,' and to 'question scientific literature.' At this point, there's no question. There are more than 30 journal articles that demonstrate the increased risk and association of talcum powder and ovarian cancer. There are also studies showing at a microscopic level how talcum causes neoplastic changes at a cellular level. Johnson & Johnson is simply following the standard tobacco and asbestos playbook, which is to deny the allegations and to question science.”
When Onder first started receiving cases against Johnson & Johnson, he was skeptical about the link. But then he started researching medical journals and uncovering communications within the company:
“When I was first approached by a client who claimed Johnson & Johnson caused her ovarian cancer, my response was same as rest of population. Who could blame Johnson & Johnson? It's the most innocuous company on Earth. But then I called my OBGYN friend and he said it was absolutely real. He learned about the link 30 years in medical school. That was telling. The risk of cancer was known in medical community for decades, and it’s real.”
According to Onder, internal emails include evidence that Johnson & Johnson knew sales were dropping as more people became aware of the health dangers. They started targeting African Americans, Hispanics, and overweight women to bolster sales figures. Onder said:
“Employees were writing emails making fun of overweight women. The documents are truly offensive. The company has known forever and has been creating a defense strategy for decades.”
He also added that this is the second case to include punitive damages for Johnson & Johnson's supplier, Imerys Talc.
Imerys manufactures the talcum powder, which is 99 percent of the baby powder; Johnson & Johnson adds fragrance and bottles the product.
When the talcum is delivered from Imerys to Johnson & Johnson, it comes with a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) warning that the product may contain a possible carcinogen.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subgroup of the World Health Organization, classified talcum-based body powders as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” in 2006.
It's been a requirement since then that Imerys and other talc providers provide the IARC classification on the MSDS.
According to the American Cancer Society, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and other American agencies have not fully reviewed the safety of talcum powder for use on the genitals. Additionally, Everyday Health reports, cosmetic products are not required to receive FDA approval.
When asked if families should continue to use the product at home, Onder said that women should seriously reconsider their use of the product for feminine hygiene purposes.
He noted that while research might be inconclusive, according to government agencies at this time, there have been plenty of journals that suggest women during puberty and menopause are at a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer when exposed to talcum powder:
“My recommendation, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use for feminine hygiene. There are legitimate uses for talcum powder, but the evidence is overwhelming that talcum powder body products are linked to ovarian cancer when women use the product during puberty and menopause.”
He also noted that while existing evidence was linked primarily to women in menopause and puberty, he also wouldn't suggest using it on babies:
“There isn't any medical literature that says using talcum powder as a baby can increase the risk of ovarian cancer 20-30 years later, when that was the sole exposure. But in terms of the mechanism by which talc undisputedly gets to the ovaries, it's going to occur during puberty and menopause. A number of experts have said that it shouldn’t be used on baby as it increases risk. The highest risk is for puberty and menopause, but again, I'd personally never use on my baby.”
Now that the trial is over, Onder is focused on promoting his case and telling people about the dangers of talcum powder. He noted that a small portion of the $110 million will go to the victim.
Most of the money, for punitive damages against the company, will go to the state of Missouri Crime Victims' Compensation Program.
Onder plans to continue pressing the company until it changes its policy, which he admits might take some time:
“Johnson & Johnson is the biggest litigator of pharmaceutical products. It consistently goes to court and argues that it won't pay. But eventually, it will have to start applying common sense and change from using talcum to corn starch. At that point, we'll need to start talking about resolving cases and taking care of the women who have been harmed by their product.”
The St. Louis jurors agreed that the company could do more to help protect families like Slemp's, Jacqueline Fox's, and others.
Last year, a juror told Bloomberg after a $82 million verdict:
“It was really clear they were hiding something. All they had to do was put a warning label on.”
Health organizations have been slower to judge the company's actions. Audra Moran, President and CEO of Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, wrote in a statement regarding a previous lawsuit:
“In highly publicized cases like these, we must be careful as a women’s health organization to let science guide our reactions. The fact remains that the science is inconclusive about increased risk of ovarian cancer to women using talcum powder.”
Slemp has been too ill to make a statement on the verdict. But in her courtroom deposition, shared by Onder, Slemp said she felt betrayed by the company for not doing more to protect her:
“ [...] I put trust in Johnson & Johnson that they wouldn't have something in there to cause cancer. See, I trusted them. Big mistake.”
While some courts have decided that the company needs to do more to protect women from the risks associated with ovarian cancer, for now the product — and the decision over whether or not women should continue to use it — remains on the shelf.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in US talcum powder cancer lawsuit

May 8, 2017 | Pharmaceutical Business Review

A Missouri jury has ordered pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110m as compensation to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using the company's talc-based products.
The woman hailing from Virginia had filed a lawsuit against the American healthcare brand in the 2nd Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, claiming that she got the cancer because of using the J&J products for routine feminine hygiene for nearly 40 years.
Lois Slemp, the plaintiff was awarded compensatory damages of $5.4m along with punitive damages of $105m against J&J. Imerys Talc America which provides the product to J&J has been asked to pay $50,000 by the court.
In the talcum powder litigation trial that ran for three weeks, the plaintiff’s attorneys brought various internal documents of J&J which showed that the company officials were aware of the link between genital talc and ovarian cancer since a long time. Slemp accused J&J of not warning consumers of the potential danger in order to protect its profits from the talcum powder products.
Bernstein Liebhard partner Sandy A Liebhard said: "Our Firm is representing a number of clients who also claim to have developed ovarian cancer following the long-term use of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products for feminine hygiene purposes.
“We are extremely pleased with this verdict and will continue to monitor upcoming talcum powder trials for any developments that might affect our clients' cases.”
Three other Missouri talcum powder trials apart from the one involving Slemp have been awarded compensatory and punitive damages totaling up to $70m, $72m and $55m. J&J could only one case so far which was concluded in March.

Return to headline | Return to top
Talc powder trial ends with $110 million judgment against J&J

May 8, 2017 | St. Louis Record

By Michael Carroll

Jurors hit Johnson & Johnson with a $110 million judgment last week as they drew a link between the company’s talc powder products and a Virginia woman’s ovarian cancer.
Jurors in the 22nd Circuit Court made their decision in favor of the plaintiff, 61-year-old Lois Slemp, who was too sick from cancer treatments to appear at the trial. They called on J&J, makers of Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, to pay Slemp compensatory damages of more than $5.4 million and punitive damages of $105 million.
Imerys Talc America Inc., J&J’s talc supplier, was fined $50,000 in punitive damages by the jury, which said Imerys was 1 percent at fault in the case.
In responding to the verdict, which was the highest such payout in a series of talc trials involving J&J, both defendants expressed sympathy for those affected by ovarian cancer, but they stood by their position that talc does not heighten the risk of ovarian cancer.
Carol Goodrich, a J&J spokeswoman, said the company would begin the process of appealing this week’s verdict.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year, and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” Goodrich said in a prepared statement emailed to the St. Louis Record.
The company believes that a jury verdict in J&J’s favor in March, as well as the dismissal of two similar New Jersey cases in the fall of 2016, revealed the lack of credible scientific evidence in the plaintiffs’ charges, she said.
But one of the attorneys who represented Slemp, Ted Meadows of the Beasley Allen law firm, characterized the verdict as an affirmation that the companies put profits over people and failed to take studies linking the genital use of talc with ovarian cancer seriously.
“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Meadows said in a prepared statement.
The Beasley Allen firm also pointed out that in 2016, three verdicts went against J&J in talc-related cases involving plaintiffs suffering from ovarian cancer. Those cases involved damages awards of $70 million, $72 million and $55 million.
During the trial, Meadows and plaintiff attorney Allen Smith put on the stand researchers who testified about 20 medical studies that they said showed a statistically significant link between genital talc use and ovarian cancer. But defense attorneys cited cohort studies and research by government agencies – including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute – saying there is no established link between talc and ovarian cancer.
In an emailed statement to the St. Louis Record, Gwen Myers of Imerys Talc America Inc., maintained that talc is a safe product and that the recent verdict would undermine efforts to determine the real causes of ovarian cancer.
“We are disappointed by the jury’s decision, but we remain confident in the consensus of government agencies and professional scientific organizations that have reviewed the safety of talc, that talc is safe,” Myers said.
Smith ended his closing statement in the case with a portion of an audio recording of Slemp saying that she trusted in the safety of J&J’s products. “I trusted them,” she said. “Big mistake.”
The plaintiff’s attorneys also showed the jury internal company documents that they said proved that J&J had known about the dangers of talc reported in epidemiology studies for decades but either dismissed or tried to obscure to findings.
“They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny,” attorney Meadows said after the verdict.
Defense attorney Orlando Richmond ended his closing comments to jurors with a National Cancer Institute statement on April 7: “The weight of evidence does not support an association between perineal talc exposure and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.”
Richmond didn’t respond to the Record’s request for comment on Friday.
Defense attorneys also put Dr. Warner K. Huh, a gynecological oncologist, on the stand to testify about Slemp’s other medical conditions, which the defense said could have been factors that helped to cause the tumors on her ovaries. Slemp was a longtime smoker who is morbidly obese and has a medical history of hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, according to her medical records.
“She had a truly profound family history of cancer,” Huh said, and he concluded that she would have been subject to ovarian tumors whether she had used talc or not.
That testimony didn’t seem to carry much weight with jurors, however. They sided with Slemp in all of her claims against J&J and Talc America indicating conspiracy, implied warranty and negligence.

Return to headline | Return to top

International Coverage

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in US talc cancer case

May 5, 2017 | BBC

Pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been ordered by a US court to pay more than $110m (£85m) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after using its talcum powder.
Lois Slemp, 62, from Virginia, Missouri said she developed the cancer after four decades of using talc products.
Prosecutors argued the company did not adequately warn about the cancer risks associated with the items.
Experts say links with ovarian cancer are unproven. J&J says it will appeal.
The verdict in a St Louis state court is the largest so far to arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits against J&J over its talc-based products, Reuters news agency reports.
Ms Slemp is currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer initially diagnosed in 2012 returned and spread to her liver.
She said the products she used included J&J's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
"Once again we've shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America," said Ted Meadows, a lawyer for Ms Slemp.
The verdict included $5.4m in compensatory damages and $105m in punitive damages against J&J.
The company said it planned to appeal. "We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," it said in a statement.
"We deeply sympathise with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer."
J&J lost three jury verdicts last year in cases related to its talc-based products, but won its first trial in March, when a jury in Missouri sided with the company.Is talc safe? James Gallagher, health editor, BBC news website
There have been concerns for years that using talcum powder, particularly on the genitals, may increase the risk of ovarian cancer.
But the evidence is not conclusive. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies talc used on the genitals as "possibly carcinogenic" because of the mixed evidence.Why is there any debate?
The mineral talc in its natural form does contain asbestos and does cause cancer, however, asbestos-free talc has been used in baby powder and other cosmetics since the 1970s. But the studies on asbestos-free talc give contradictory results.
It has been linked to a cancer risk in some studies, but there are concerns that the research may be biased as they often rely on people remembering how much talc they used years ago. Other studies have argued there is no link at all and there is no link between talc in contraceptives such as diaphragms and condoms (which would be close to the ovaries) and cancer.
Also there does not seem to be a "dose-response" for talc, unlike with known carcinogens like tobacco where the more you smoke, the greater the risk of lung cancer.What should women do?
The charity Ovacome says there is no definitive evidence and that the worst-case scenario is that using talc increases the risk of cancer by a third.
But it adds: "Ovarian cancer is a rare disease, and increasing a small risk by a third still gives a small risk. So even if talc does increase the risk slightly, very few women who use talc will ever get ovarian cancer."

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson Accused of Selling Cancer-Causing Talc

May 5, 2017 | NDTV

In another recent health scare, Johnson & Johnson, an American multinational known for manufacturing pharmaceutical and consumer goods
especially for babies, has been accused of using carcinogenic ingredients in its talcum powder. The world's largest health care company has been ordered by the St. Louis jury to pay 110 million US dollars to a women in Virginia who claims to have developed ovarian cancer after almost 40 years of using their talc-based product for feminine hygiene.

Lois Slemp is currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer
which was initially diagnosed in 2012, returned and spread to her liver. Ms. Slemp blames the regular use of the talc for having developed cancer. Johnson & Johnson is also famous of its baby powder and baby lotion. She also alleges that the talc was contaminated with asbestos but both allegations have been denied by the company. However, the jury in Missouri has found both Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America, which provides the product to the company, guilty and has ordered them to pay massive punitive damages. Imerys Talc is a unit of the Paris-based Imerys SA.
In a statement, the company's spokesperson, Carol Goodrich shared that they will appeal the verdict and continue to defend the safety of their products. Shockingly and on the contrary, there are more than 2500 lawsuits pending against the company regarding their popular products like the baby powder and the shower to shower talc and their associated risk of cancer.

Some of the cases have been dismissed due to the lack of credible scientific evidence but lawyers claim that the company has failed to warn their customers about the risks of using these products. This is not the first time that their talcum powder has been accused of causing ovarian cancer. The company is facing another charge brought by the family of a former competitive figure skater who died of ovarian cancer and the trial for the same is due in July. In 2016, other juries awarded Deborah Giannecchini 70 million US dollars and Jacqueline Fox 72 million US dollars in damages for their suits against Johnson and Johnson blaming their talcum powder to have caused ovarian cancer.

Back in 2006, based on studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer which is a part of the World Health Organization
regarded the use of talc-based body powder on the genitals as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." Such incidents raise big questions as most of their products are used for babies and kids and given the image of the company people assume that they are using something that is totally safe. This and many other controversies that have cropped up in the last few years indicate the sorry state of the safety of consumer goods and how intense commercialization and industrialization may be affecting the quality of the products we use in our day to day lives while posing a serious health threat.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson to pay $148 million in damages to woman who ‘got cancer’ from their baby powder

May 5, 2017 | News.com.au

COSMETICS company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$110 million (AU$148 million) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after 40 years of using of its talc- based products for feminine hygiene.
Lois Slemp, who lives in the US state of Virginia, is undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer, initially diagnosed in 2012, returned and spread to her liver.
Ms Slemp said she developed cancer after four decades of daily use of talc-containing products produced by J & J, specifically the well-known Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
Thursday’s verdict in Missouri awarded $US5.4 million in compensatory damages and said J & J was 99 per cent at fault, while talc supplier Imerys was one per cent to blame.
But it awarded massive punitive damages of $US105 million against J & J and a $US50,000 against Imerys.
There have been thousands of lawsuits filed against the company, the world’s largest health care group, for allegedly ignoring studies that linked its baby powder and Shower to Shower product to ovarian cancer.
J & J failed to warn customers about the risk, lawyers claim.
Late last year, a jury awarded California woman Deborah Giannecchini US$70 million (AU$94 million) in damages for her suit against J & J.
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after years of using baby powder.
And in early 2016, Jacqueline Fox’s family was awarded US$72 million (AU$97 million) in damages after a jury found her use of talcum powder contributed to her widespread cancer.
Ms Fox died in October 2015. Her son Marvin Salter said the company should’ve warned its customers.
“It has to be safe. It’s put on babies. It’s been around forever. Why haven’t we heard about any ill effects?
“People were using something they thought was perfectly safe. And it isn’t. At least give people the choice. J & J didn’t give people a choice.”
Following today’s latest outcome, J & J said in a statement it sympathised with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” J & J said.
The verdict was the largest so far out of about 2400 lawsuits accusing the healthcare company of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products including Johnson’s Baby Powder.
Many of those lawsuits are pending in the state court in St. Louis, where the company has faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in verdicts awarding plaintiffs $US195 million in total.

Return to headline | Return to top
Following today’s latest outcome, J & J said in a statement it sympathised with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” J & J

May 5, 2017 | HindustanTimes

By Sanchita Sharma

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a US jury to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who sued the company saying she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene.
The plaintiff Lois Slemp, 62, is undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer that was diagnosed in 2012. The retired nurse’s assistant said she used J&J’s baby powder and Shower to Shower talc products for feminine hygiene for more than 40 years before her ovarian cancer diagnosis. Slemp was too ill to attend the trial.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic”. Talc is a mineral widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture. Apart from cosmetics, it is used in other products, including paint and plastics.
Johnson & Johnson is a leading consumer healthcare brand in India and leads in areas of feminine hygiene, facial skincare, wound care, cough and cold, oral care, among others, says the company website.
The company will appeal the verdict. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,’’ said company spokesperson Carol Goodrich. The company’s trial win in March and the New Jersey dismissal last year “highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs’ allegations,” Goodrich said.
Slemp, whose cancer has since spread to her liver, also claims Johnson & Johnson talc was contaminated with asbestos, a rare allegation in these cases. The company told the jury its products didn’t cause Slemp’s cancer and don’t contain asbestos.
Company lawyer Orlando Richmond argued that Johnson & Johnson doesn’t need to warn women about talc because there is no link. The company told Food and Drug Administration in 2014 that a warning label should not be put on baby powder because “the science doesn’t warrant it.”
The verdict in state court in St. Louis is the largest so far among the around 2,400 lawsuits accusing Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn consumers about the health and cancer risks of talc-based products, including its popular Johnson’s Baby Powder.
J&J lost jury verdicts of $72 million, $55 million and $70 million last year, while winning the first trial in 2017. The company is appealing the trial losses. A New Jersey state court judge last year threw out two talc cases set for trial, finding inadequate scientific support for the claims. That decision is also on appeal.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson loses lawsuit: Is there a link between talc products and cancer?

May 5, 2017 | Straits Times

By Toh Wen Li

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St Louis jury on Thursday (May 4) to pay more than US$110 million (S$154 million) to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company's talcum products.
There are over 3,000 lawsuits accusing the world's largest healthcare company of ignoring studies linking its baby powder and Shower To Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and failing to warn customers of the risk.
The Straits Times asks some experts questions that consumers might have on this issue.
Q: What sorts of products contain talc?
A: Talc is used in everyday products such as cosmetics, deodorants and sometimes even powdered food.
Q: How might talc cause ovarian cancer?
A: Ovarian cancer is believed to be caused when the ovaries become inflamed, which can happen when they are irritated by a foreign substance.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Elisa Koh at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre said that while the entry of the powder through the genital tract could be an issue, using it on the chest or face is unlikely to cause problems.
Q: What are the risks of using talc?
A: The World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies the use of talc-based body powder in the genital region as "possibly carcinogenic".
This means that there is limited evidence that such powder causes cancer in humans.
Evidence globally has been inconclusive in establishing a link between ovarian cancer and talcum powder, the Health Sciences Authority has said.
Q: What can I do if I am concerned about the possible link between talc and ovarian cancer?
A: Dr Elaine Lim, senior consultant at the National Cancer Centre Singapore's medical oncology division, suggests using cornstarch as an alternative.
Q: How can Singapore consumers be assured that talc products are safe?
A: The Health Sciences Authority has said that it keeps tabs on products containing talc to make sure that they are safe. This includes testing samples of such products and monitoring adverse reactions suffered by people who use them.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson Baby Powder Causes Cancer? Jury Rules J&J To Pay $110m To Woman Over Talc-Cancer Allegation

May 5, 2017 | International Business Times

By Shreesha Ghosh

Johnson & Johnson was ordered Thursday by a jury in Missouri state court to pay over $110 million in its fifth trial over the safety of its talcum powder, to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after almost 40 years of using the company’s talc-based products.
J&J’s talcum powder is provided by Imerys Talc America, which is a unit of Paris-based Imerys SA. The lawsuit was filed against J&J and its talc supplier by Lois Slemp, a Virginia resident currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer, initially diagnosed in 2012 emerged again and spread to her liver.
Slemp filed a lawsuit against one of the largest healthcare companies and said she developed cancer after using the talc-based products from J&J for almost four decades, which included J&J’s Shower to Shower Powder and Baby Powder.
The case being fought by J&J is Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri, No. 1422-CC09326-01.
The company has faced several lawsuits previously but this verdict in St. Louis' state court was the largest so far out of about 2,400 lawsuits accusing the company of not properly warning consumers about the cancer risks involved with its talc-based products, including the famous Johnson's Baby Powder.
Many of the lawsuits against J&J are still pending in the St. Louis court, where the company has already faced four trials, out of which three resulted in verdicts worth $197 million against J&J and its talc supplier.
J&J lost jury verdicts of $72 million, $55 million and $70 million last year, while winning the first trial in 2017.
The company has sympathized with the women affected by ovarian cancer but said it is planning to appeal against the trial losses and, according to spokesperson Carol Goodrich, Thursday's verdict as well.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,’’ she said.
During Thursday’s verdict, the jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and concluded J&J was 99 percent at fault while Imerys' responsibility was just 1 percent. J&J was ordered to pay an additional $105 million in punitive damages while Imerys was told to pay $50,000.
A spokesperson for Imerys said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg the jury’s verdict proved to be contradictory because several scientific organizations and the government had come to a conclusion that the talc is safe.
“This verdict serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer,’’ she wrote in the statement.
Ted Meadows however, one of Slemp’s attorneys, disagreed and said “Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America.”
“They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny,” Meadows added.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson powder gave a woman ovarian cancer; now it has to pay up

May 5, 2017 | Business Standard

By Surbhi Gloria Singh

A verdict in Missouri awarded $US5.4 million in compensatory damages to a woman in Virginia and said J & J was 99 per cent at fault as the woman developed cancer after four decades of daily use of talc-containing products produced by J & J, specifically the well-known Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a St. Louis jury to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum products. Imerys Talc America, which provided the talc to J&J, was ordered by the jury to pay about $100,000. Imerys Talc is a unit of Paris-based Imerys SA.

St. Louis plaintiff Lois Slemp, 62, said she used J&J’s baby powder for more than 40 years before her diagnosis with ovarian cancer in 2012. J&J sold its Shower to Shower brand in 2012.

"Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” said Ted Meadows, one of Slemp’s attorneys. “They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny."

Slemp's claim

Slemp, whose cancer has since spread to her liver, also claims J&J talc was contaminated with asbestos (a clause Johnson and Johnson has categorically denied), a rare allegation in these cases.

The company faces trial in another talc claim in St. Louis city court next month, brought by the family of a former competitive figure skater who died of ovarian cancer. The trial after that is set for July in Los Angeles.

J&J didn’t warn women of studies linking talc to ovarian cancer to protect the company’s image, Allen Smith, Slemp’s attorney, told jurors.

Slemp, a retired nurse’s assistant, is undergoing chemotherapy and was too ill to attend the trial.For millions of people who rely on Johnson & Johnson, this case reveals a tragic reality. The company has always showcased itself as one dedicated to childcare and women, but thousands of lawsuits have proved that J&J like any other pharmaceutical firm, is primarily a profit oriented company.

According to a report published in Bloomberg, there are more than 3,000 lawsuits accusing the pharma giant of ignoring studies linking its baby powder and Shower to Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and failing to warn customers about the risk.

J&J lost jury verdicts of $72 million, $55 million and $70 million last year, while winning the first trial in 2017. J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is appealing the trial losses. A New Jersey state court judge last year threw out two talc cases set for trial, finding inadequate scientific support for the claims. That decision is also on appeal.

The cancer-causing chemical lurking in Your shower

A 2008 survey found that the chemical was in 46 percent of personal care products that were tested. The toxic substance - 1,4-dioxane - is used in a number of bath products including most pharmacy-stocked shower gels, lotions and even hand soaps.
Despite being identified as a carcinogen, companies are not required to list it on their product labels.

Chemical 1,4-dioxane is a clear liquid that easily dissolves in water. It is used primarily as a solvent in the manufacturing of chemicals and as a laboratory reagent (a substance used to cause a chemical reaction). The toxin is generated through a process called ethoxylation, in which ethylene oxide - a known breast carcinogen - is added to other chemicals to make them less harsh.

While the US FDA encourages manufacturers to remove 1,4-dioxane, it is not required by federal law.

Earlier this month, US Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called on the US FDA to ban it, saying it doesn't have a real purpose in cosmetics, according to Daily Mail.

'The fact that 1,4-dioxane, a potentially dangerous chemical, is hiding out in everyday products expected to make us clean is very disturbing, and to make matters worse, likely carcinogens like this one can be even more harmful to kids,' Schumer said in a statement.

A number of companies have agreed to stop using 1,4-dioxane including Johnson & Johnson, which reformulated its baby bath products in 2014.
Is it safe to use FDA approved medication?
The FDA regulates medical devices to help ensure they are safe. Johnson & Johnson controversy, however, has driven home a pertinent point: How safe are US FDA approved drugs and cosmetics?
According to a report published by Boston Globe, "Critics worry faster FDA drug reviews could compromise safety".

Return to headline | Return to top
Another woman gets mega payout over baby powder

May 5, 2017 | Starts at 60

A US judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay millions to a woman after finding there was sufficient evidence the company’s baby powder caused her ovarian cancer.
Lois Slemp will receive US$110 million (AU$148 million) from the health care giant, after she joined thousands of others suing the company for allegedly causing their cancer.
Slemp had used Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder for over 40 years and claimed her ovarian cancer, which later spread to her liver, was caused by the popular product.
It’s not the first time the company has had to pay up since claims linking talcum powder and cancer emerged. Last year, they were forced to deliver $US72 million ($97 million) to the family of US woman Jacqueline Fox after she died from ovarian cancer.
A pathologist told the court Fox’s ovaries were inflamed from talc, which then turned into cancer.
While there have been numerous studies on the issue, results directly linking talcum powder to cancer have been varied.
Some studies found talcum powder caused a slight increased risk of cancer, while others found no increased risk at all. Scientifically, there is not enough conclusive evidence to link the two.
However, it hasn’t stopped the courts from awarding damages to numerous women.
Johnson & Johnson released a statement following Slemp’s win today, saying while they sympathised with ovarian cancer victims, they would appeal the decision.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” they said.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110M in cancer lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | UPI

By Andrew V. Pestano

A St. Louis jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $110 million to a Virginia woman who blamed the company's talcum products for her ovarian cancer.
The jury also ordered the company that provided the talc to Johnson & Johnson, Imerys Talc America, which is part of Paris-based Imerys SA, to pay about $100,000.
The jury awarded 62-year-old Lois Slemp $5.4 million in compensatory damages and $105 million in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson faces more than 3,000 lawsuits for allegedly ignoring studies linking its Baby Powder and Shower to Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and for allegedly failing to warn customers about the risk related to talc use. In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified talc as a possible carcinogen.
Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich told Bloomberg the company is "preparing for additional trials this year and will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder."
In 2016, Johnson & Johnson lost jury verdicts three times for a nearly $200 million loss, which the New Jersey-based company is appealing. A New Jersey judge also threw out two talc cases set for trial last year, citing inadequate scientific support for the allegations. In March, the company won in another case.
Goodrich said the company's win earlier this year and the case dismissals in New Jersey last year "highlight the lack of credible scientific evidence behind plaintiffs' allegations."
Imerys spokeswoman Gwen Myers told CVN the jury's verdict "serves to undermine efforts by the scientific community to determine the true causes of ovarian cancer and help lead us to a cure for this tragic disease."
Ted Meadows, Slemp's attorney, said the jury's order further proves the company puts profits over people.

"Once again we've shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America," Meadows said. "I hope this verdict prompts J&J to acknowledge the facts and help educate the medical community and the public about the proper use of their products."

Return to headline | Return to top
US pharma Johnson & Johnson loses $110mn talc cancer case

May 5, 2017 | RT

A court in St. Louis, Missouri has ordered the US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman, who claims she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using its talcum powder.
The verdict is the largest for J&J among nearly 2,400 current lawsuits accusing the company of insufficient warning to consumers about cancer risks connected to products containing talc.
Most of those suits have been filed in St. Louis. The company has already faced four previous trials, three of which resulted in $197 million verdicts against J&J and its talc supplier.
Lois Slemp won her case against J&J and Imerys Talc. She is currently receiving chemotherapy, as ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2012 has returned and affected her liver.
According to Ms. Slemp, cancer developed following four decades of using talc-based products manufactured by the companies, including J&J's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
“Once again we've shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continued to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Ted Meadows, a lawyer for the suitor said in a statement
The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensation with $105 million to be paid as punitive damages, saying J&J was 99 percent at fault while Imerys was just one percent responsible.
J&J sympathizes with women impacted by oncological diseases, but plans to appeal, according to a company statement.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year, and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder,” J&J said.

In May 2016, the corporation lost another case over talcum powder products allegedly leading to cancer when a jury awarded $55 million to the plaintiff. Another jury hit J&J and Imerys with a $70 million verdict in October.

Return to headline | Return to top
‘TALC CANCER DANGER’ Woman awarded £85MILLION after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson baby powder

May 5, 2017 | The Sun

By Tom Michael

THE makers of Johnson’s baby powder have been ordered to shell out more than £85million to a US woman who says she got cancer from using its products.
A jury in St Louis, Missouri, awarded the record sum to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, in the latest court case against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her four-decade-long use of the company’s talcum powder products.
The disease has now spread to her liver and she was too ill to attend the trial.
But in an audiotape of her testimony played in court she said: “I trusted Johnson & Johnson – big mistake.”
Jim Onder, one of Slemp’s lawyers, today said she was “thrilled” with the verdict and hoped it would “send a message”.
Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind Slemp’s claims.
The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favour in a similar case in March, while two more cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge.
A statement from the company said: “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
Much research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and the use of baby powder for feminine hygiene, and most major health groups have declared talc harmless.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic”.
Lawyers cited other research that began connecting talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s, claiming women who regularly use it on their genital area face up to a 40 per cent higher risk of developing the disease.
Three previous juries in St Louis have awarded a total of £152million to claimants in similar cases.

One of those was ovarian cancer sufferer Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was awarded more than £58million in October last year.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson and Johnson ordered to pay woman US$110 over cancer claims

May 5, 2017 | International Business Times

By Anne Lu

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by court to pay US$110 million (AU$149 million) to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer from using the brand’s talcum powder for four decades. The verdict was the largest so far from thousands of lawsuits accusing the multinational corporation of not warning consumers about the alleged cancer risks of its Johnson’s Baby Powder.
Lois Slemp from Virginia state was awarded US$5.4 million (AU$7.31 million) in compensatory damages, which the jury said J&J was 99 percent at fault while co-defendant Imerys Talc, the talc supplier, was just 1 percent at fault. The jury also awarded Slemp with US$105 million (AU$142 million) against J&J and US$50,000 (AU$67,641) against Imerys.
The plaintiff, who said she used J&J products including J&J’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder, was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The cancer came back and has spread to her liver. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
Ted Meadows, the lawyer for Slemp, said the companies ignored scientific evidence that the baby powder is carcinogenic and failed to warn its users. Different studies on the link between cancer and use of talcum powder were inconclusive, however. Some studies have argued that there is no link at all.
UK charity Ovacome said that the worst case scenario of using talc is the increase of cancer by a third. “Ovarian cancer is a rare disease, and increasing a small risk by a third still gives a small risk. So even if talc does increase the risk slightly, very few women who use talc will ever get ovarian cancer,” the charity was quoted by BBC as saying.
J&J to appeal
While sympathetic to the women who suffer from ovarian cancer and to their families, J&J said it planned to appeal. It cited its previous court win in March and the dismissal of two cases in September by a state court judge who ruled that the plaintiffs’ claim lacked credible scientific evidence. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” the company said in a statement.
Johnson & Johnson losses
Slemp is not the first woman who sued the pharmaceutical giant. Last year, California woman Deborah Giannecchini was awarded US$70 million ($AU95 million) in damages. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after using the company Baby Powder for more than 40 years for feminine hygiene.
The family Jacqueline Fox, who died in 2015, was awarded by a Missouri state jury US$72 million (AU$97 million) in February 2016. It was the first verdict by a US jury to award damages against Johnson & Johnson over cancer claims.

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman who blamed cancer on baby powder is awarded £85MILLION by Johnson & Johnson

May 5, 2017 | The Mirror

By Keith Perry

A woman in the US has been awarded £85MILLION after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson & Johnson baby powder. A jury in St Louis, Missouri, awarded the record sum to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, in the latest court case against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her four-decade-long use of the company’s talcum powder products.
The disease has now spread to her liver and she was too ill to attend the trial.
But in an audiotape of her testimony played in court she said: “I trusted Johnson & Johnson – big mistake.”
Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind Slemp’s claims.
The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favour in a similar case in March, while two more cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge.
A statement from the company said: “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
Much research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and the use of baby powder for feminine hygiene, and most major health groups have declared talc harmless.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic”.
Lawyers cited other research that began connecting talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s, claiming women who regularly use it on their genital area face up to a 40 per cent higher risk of developing the disease.
Three previous juries in St Louis have awarded a total of £152million to claimants in similar cases.
One of those was ovarian cancer sufferer Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was awarded more than £58million in October last year.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J to pay $148m to woman who ‘got cancer’ from baby powder

May 6, 2017 | Queensland Times

COSMETICS company Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$110 million (AU$148 million) to a woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after 40 years of using of its talc- based products for feminine hygiene.
Lois Slemp, who lives in the US state of Virginia, is undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer, initially diagnosed in 2012, returned and spread to her liver.
Ms Slemp said she developed cancer after four decades of daily use of talc-containing products produced by J & J, specifically the well-known Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
Thursday's verdict in Missouri awarded $US5.4 million in compensatory damages and said J & J was 99 per cent at fault, while talc supplier Imerys was one per cent to blame.
But it awarded massive punitive damages of $US105 million against J & J and a $US50,000 against Imerys.

There have been thousands of lawsuits filed against the company, the world's largest health care group, for allegedly ignoring studies that linked its baby powder and Shower to Shower product to ovarian cancer.
J & J failed to warn customers about the risk, lawyers claim.

Late last year, a jury awarded California woman Deborah Giannecchini US$70 million (AU$94 million) in damages for her suit against J & J.
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 after years of using baby powder.
And in early 2016, Jacqueline Fox's family was awarded US$72 million (AU$97 million) in damages after a jury found her use of talcum powder contributed to her widespread cancer.
Ms Fox died in October 2015. Her son Marvin Salter said the company should've warned its customers.
"It has to be safe. It's put on babies. It's been around forever. Why haven't we heard about any ill effects?
"People were using something they thought was perfectly safe. And it isn't. At least give people the choice. J & J didn't give people a choice."
Following today's latest outcome, J & J said in a statement it sympathised with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," J & J said.
The verdict was the largest so far out of about 2400 lawsuits accusing the healthcare company of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products including Johnson's Baby Powder.
Many of those lawsuits are pending in the state court in St. Louis, where the company has faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in verdicts awarding plaintiffs $US195 million in total.

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury awards record $110.5M in Johnson's baby powder lawsuit

May 6, 2017 | Cox Media

By Joy Johnston

A jury in Missouri awarded a Virginia woman $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused ovarian cancer.
Three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of almost $200 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims; those cases are under appeal. According to The Associated Press, approximately 2,000 state and federal lawsuits have been filed nationwide over concerns about prolonged talcum powder use.
Lois Slemp, 62, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, and the cancer has now spread to her liver, The Associated Press reported. She used Johnson & Johnson's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years, per court documents. Slemp was too ill to attend the trial, but submitted an audiotape of her deposition testimony.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement to The Associated Press that it would appeal the decision and continues to defend the safety of its baby powder. The company disputes the evidence behind the plaintiffs' allegations. The company noted court victories in which juries have agreed with the company that there wasn't reliable evidence that talc products cause ovarian cancer.
Talc is a mineral that is widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products since the late 1800s.
While there is liovarian cancer and baby powder usage for feminine hygiene, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies that particular usage as "possibly carcinogenic."
Plaintiff attorneys point to case studies that suggest women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay More Than $110 Million In Baby Powder, Shower To Shower Powder Cancer Case

May 5, 2017 | Tech Tiems

By Allan Adamson

On Thursday, May 4 a Missouri jury ordered the company to pay more than $110 million to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson talc-based products for feminine hygiene.
The decision in the St. Louis state court is so far the largest out of about 2,400 lawsuits that accuse J&J of not providing adequate warning to its consumers about the cancer risk of its talc-based products, including the widely used Johnson's Baby Powder.
The lawsuits claim that the world's largest healthc are company ignored studies that link its baby powder and Shower to Shower talc products to ovarian cancer and failed to give adequate warnings to consumers about the risks.
Many of the lawsuits are pending in St. Louis. Three of the four prior trials here were not favorable to J&J and led to a $197 million verdict against the company and a talc supplier.
Thursday's verdict is for a lawsuit filed by Virginia resident Lois Slemp against J&J and talc supplier Imerys Talc.
Slemp, who currently undergoes chemotherapy, was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The illness has spread to her liver.Long-Term Use of J&J Talc-Containing Products
Slemp claimed that her cancer developed after four decades of using J&J's talc-containing products, which include Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
The jury ordered $5.4 million in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages of $50,000 against Imerys and $105 million against J&J.
"They chose to put profits over people, spending millions in efforts to manipulate scientific and regulatory scrutiny." said Ted Meadows, one of the lawyers who represented Slemp and other plaintiffs.Studies Investigating Link Between Talcum Powder And Ovarian Cancer
Imerys spokesperson Gwen Myers said the verdict undermines scientific efforts to find out the true causes of ovarian cancer.
Several studies have looked into the potential link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer but the results are mixed. Some of the studies suggest a slightly increased risk while others reported finding no link at all. There is ongoing research to find out if talcum can indeed cause cancer of the ovaries.
"There is very little evidence at this time that any other forms of cancer are linked with consumer use of talcum powder," the American Cancer Society said in a statement. "Until more information is available, people concerned about using talcum powder may want to avoid or limit their use of consumer products that contain it."
J&J said that it plans to appeal and will continue to defend the safety of its products.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson to pay $110m in cancer lawsuit

May 5, 2017 | Pulse Headlines

By Daniel Francis

A Missouri jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson has to pay $110 million in damages to a Virginia woman who sued the company for not warning consumers about cancer risk on their talc products.
Lois Slemp used Johnson & Johnson’s baby talc products for decades, which apparently caused her to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Other lawsuits are pending, totaling $197 million against the company and a separate talc supplier. Johnson & Johnson officials say that they will appeal the decision because experts do not seem to agree whether links with ovarian cancer are proven as of date.A decisive ruling over uncertain claims
According to Lois Slemp, she had cancer due to her continuous use of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder. Her lawyer claims that companies “ignored scientific evidence and deny their responsibilities.”
The International Agency for Research on Cancer labels the product only as “possibly carcinogenic,” concerning the use of talcum powder on the genitals.
The reason why there is a debate is that of the asbestos present in mineral talc, and because asbestos is a confirmed carcinogen. The issue is that asbestos has been mostly left out of consumer talcum powder and other cosmetics for decades, although studies do not seem to agree whether this has made a difference.
Few studies highlight a risk of cancer, but these depend on the participant’s personal reminiscence of how much talcum powder they used throughout all of their life. Other studies claim that there is no risk whatsoever, while ovarian cancer societies assure that even a slight increase in the risk of suffering from ovarian cancer is critical because of it being such a rare disease.
Despite the lawsuit, ovarian cancer is recognized as an elusive disease, as there is no screening program for detecting it early. Only 2 in every 100 women are at risk of developing the disease at some point.Ovarian cancer: Treatment and prevention
Women at high risk of developing the disease are recommended to either undergo scheduled checkups or remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes. Unfortunately, having the ovaries and tubes removed is a catalyst for the menopause.
Although screenings can be helpful, doctors recommend undergoing surgery to reduce the risk to nearly zero. They agree that early menopause can be a concern for most women, but they also say that it is not very likely that regular checkups are saving lives.
After turning 35, women should analyze the risks and benefits of regular checkups versus surgery to have their reproductive organs removed. In essence, what matters is that the patient is aware of the risk, as ovarian cancer is an elusive disease, which is often diagnosed only after it has displayed symptoms.

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay USD 110.5 million to Virginia woman

May 6, 2017 | The Asian Age

Multinational giant Johnson & Johnson's has been by directed by the St Louis jury to pay a Virginia woman USD 110.5 million as compensation.
62-year-old Louis Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, had filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson's alleging that she developed cancer by using the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
The jury ruling last night for Slemp comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of 97 million USD to plaintiffs who made similar claims.
About 2,000 women in the United States have filed similar suits against the company over health damage caused by extended use of Johnson & Johnson talcum powder use.
The company has said that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs' allegations.
In March 2013, Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had cancelled the cosmetic manufacturing license of Johnson & Johnson's Mulund plant after it was found that the company did not conduct the mandatory test to ensure absence of traces of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic substance, in its baby powder.

Return to headline | Return to top
$110M awarded in baby-powder suit

May 6, 2017 | Rutland Herald

A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a recordsetting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer.
The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Lois Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims. Those cases, including the previous highest award of $72 million, are all under appeal. About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are in courts across the country over concerns about health problems caused by prolonged talcum powder use.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her use of the company’s talcum-containing products for more than 40 years.
Johnson & Johnson, based in Brunswick, New Jersey, said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs’ allegations.

Return to headline | Return to top
Does baby powder cause cancer? Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m in talc cancer case

May 7, 2017 | The Indian Tribune

By Sagar Pandit

The problems of multinational company Johnson & Johnson are not over yet. This is 4th time it has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict. Before this, the company has faced many trials for its iconic baby powder. The people across the world has claimed that baby powder is responsible for ovarian cancer when regularly used for feminine hygiene.
On late Thursday, A 62-year-old lady, Lois Slemp was awarded $110.5 million by St. Louis jury. Lois Slemp got cancer problem back in 2012, and she had accused that cancer problem arises due to regular use of its talcum powder products. She was using these products since more than 40 years.
Apart from Slemp’s case, there were three other court trials in which St. Louis Jury has reached on the same outcome. The Jury has ordered to pay $72 million, $70.1 million and $55 million to the user who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. If we sum up this amount, this is around $307.6 million.
The company has bravely defended these cases but unfortunately lost all three earlier cases. In order to protect itself, this time again the company will file plea against the fourth case.
In few previous cases, the company has also got some legal victories when St. Jury has rejected the cases of ovarian and uterine cancer. Besides this, two cases in New Jersey were rejected by the jury due to lack of solid evidence that talc product has caused cancer.ALSO READ Kerala, the best state for Newborns with Infant Mortality Rate of 6 only: NFHS-4 Survey Report
As per the reports, next baby powder trial is in St. Louis. Further, the company will face another trial in July in California.Investor’s view on this matter
Investors really don’t seem much bothered about the financial trouble of the company. However, after this latest case, its share price fell down 62% ($123.10) on Friday in the late afternoon. As per the reports, the company has faced more than 2,000 lawsuits. This is really alarming news for its investors who have got strong faith in the company’s financial reputation.
J&J is the biggest manufacturer of health care products in the world. More than $72 billion yearly selling comes from its wide range products. Because of its wider range of products investors really don’t worry much when it loses product liability lawsuits. Hence its stock price rarely goes down.
Like many other mysterious questions of science, there is no certain answer for this as well. Since the finding, the reason behind cancer is very difficult. These trials were done on the group of women who were asked to use talc products on their genitals. They waited for longer time to see whether it causes cancer and comparing with the group of women who didn’t use talc products. However, Few agencies called these trials unethical.

Return to headline | Return to top
Q&A: What you need to know as woman wins record £85m in lawsuit alleging baby powder caused cancer

May 7, 2017 | PA Viral News

By Nilima Marshall

A woman has been awarded $110.5 million (£85m) after blaming her ovarian cancer on Johnson and Johnson baby powder.
Lois Slemp, 62, from Virginia, Missouri, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, and the disease has now spread to her liver.
She claims she developed the cancer after four decades of using talcum products.
Here’s what you need to know:What was the basis for the case?
Slemp’s lawyers argued that there was evidence as far back as the 1970s linking the use of talcum powder to ovarian cancer.
Lawyers with Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson cited case studies showing that women who regularly use talcum powder on their genital area face up to a 40% risk of developing ovarian cancer.
They also argued the company did not adequately warn about the cancer risks associated with the items.
The ruling came after three previous juries awarded a total of $197 million (£152m) to plaintiffs who made similar claims. Those cases, including the previous highest award of $72 million ($55m), are all under appeal.
In addition, around 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are in courts across the US over concerns about health problems caused by prolonged talcum powder use.How has Johnson & Johnson responded?
The company said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs’ allegations.
The company also noted that a jury found in its favour in March and that two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn’t reliable evidence that talcum powder leads to ovarian cancer.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” the statement said.
The suit also named supplier Imerys Talc, which was held liable for $50,000 (£38,000), who responded in a statement saying that it is “confident in the consensus of government agencies and professional scientific organisations that have reviewed the safety of talc”.What is talcum powder made of?
Talc is a mineral that is mined from deposits around the world.
The softest of minerals, it is made up mainly of the elements magnesium, silicon, and oxygen 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’s Baby Powder was launched.
But it is mainly used in a variety of other products, including paint and plastics.Does it cause ovarian cancer?
Like many questions in science, there is no definitive answer and finding the cause of cancer is difficult.
While ovarian cancer is often fatal, it is relatively rare. According to Cancer Research UK, 20 cases are diagnosed every day and it is the 15th most common cancer in the UK.
In comparison, 150 breast cancer cases are diagnosed every day, making it the most common form of cancer in the UK.
Factors that are known to increase a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer include age, obesity, use of oestrogen therapy after menopause, not having any children, certain genetic mutations and personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer.What does the research say?
The biggest studies have found no link between talcum powder applied to the genitals and ovarian cancer. But about two dozen smaller studies over three decades have mostly found a modest connection – a 20% to 40% increased risk among talcum powder users.
However, that doesn’t mean talcum powder causes cancer. In addition, there is no proof talc, which doesn’t interact with chemicals or cells, can travel up the reproductive tract, enter the ovaries and then trigger cancer.
One large study published in June 2016 that followed 51,000 sisters of breast cancer patients found genital talc users had a reduced risk of ovarian cancer – 27% lower than in non-users.
An analysis of two huge, long-running US studies, the Women’s Health Initiative and the Nurses’ Health Study, showed no increased risk of ovarian cancer in talc users.What do the experts think?
Dr Hal C Lawrence III, vice president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, says large studies that tracked women’s health for years would have verified results of the smaller ones.
“Lord knows, with the amount of powder that’s been applied to babies’ bottoms, we would’ve seen something,” he said.
The National Cancer Institute’s Dr Nicolas Wentzensen added the federal agency’s position is that there’s not a clear connection.
“It is very hard to establish causal relationships,” he said. “A lot of ovarian cancers occur in women who have never used talc, and many women have used talc and not gotten ovarian cancer.”
On its website, the American Cancer Society states about talcum powder use: “The risk for any individual woman, if there is one, is probably very small.”

Return to headline | Return to top
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110 million after woman blamed cancer on baby powder

May 6, 2017 | Indian Express

In another health scare, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products for feminine hygiene after almost 40 years. The plaintiff Lois Slemp, 62, was awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $105 million against Johnson & Johnson and $50,000 against Imerys Talc America, the company which provides the product to J&J.
Slemp who was too ill to attend the trial and is currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer initially diagnosed in 2012 returned and spread to her liver claimed that the talc was contaminated with asbestos. While the company denied the allegations, the jury found both J&J and Imerys guilty. The jury said that the leading American consumer healthcare brand was 99 per cent responsible while Imerys was just 1 per cent at fault.
In a statement, the company’s spokesperson, Carol Goodrich shared that while the company sympathises with women affected by ovarian cancer, it will appeal the verdict and continue to defend the safety of their products.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time the brand known for manufacturing consumer products especially for babies has been accused of using carcinogenic ingredients in its talcum powder. In 2016, Deborah Giannecchini was awarded $70 million and Jacqueline Fox received $72 million in damages for their suits against Johnson and Johnson for the same reason.
Currently, there are more than 2400 lawsuits pending against the company regarding their products and its associated risk of cancer.

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman Who Blamed Cancer On Baby Powder Is Awarded £85million

May 6, 2017 | UNILAD

By Francesca Donovan

Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia was awarded the sum by a jury in St Louis, Missouri and the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will have to pay up.
Slemp convinced the jury her ovarian cancer, which has now spread to her liver also, was caused by her four-decade-long use of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, was too ill to appear in court but jurors heard an audiotape of her testimony which read, “I trusted Johnson & Johnson – big mistake.”
The company – which has been dubbed one of America’s most loved brands – have defended their talcum powder products and will be disputing the scientific claims used to back up Ms Slemp’s case.
A statement read:
We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.
While the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic”, much scientific research has found little or no connection between ovarian cancer and the use of baby powder for feminine hygiene.
Research from the 1970s was used my Ms Slemp’s lawyers. However, most major health groups have declared the product harmless in more recent years.
Ms Slemp’s award is higher than any of its kind. Three St Louis juries have awarded sums to claimants in similar cases, now totalling £152 million. FollowJohnson & Johnson ✔@JNJNews
#JNJ has been ranked among America's Most Loved Brands in the Health category according to @MorningConsult. https://goo.gl/T1gtFs https://twitter.com/MorningConsult/status/859362091228176384 …12:57 PM - 3 May 2017 33 Retweets 1212 likes
One of those was ovarian cancer sufferer Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was awarded more than £58million in October last year.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson noted that one St. Louis jury found in its favour in a similar case in March, and two more cases were thrown out by a judge in New Jersey.
In total, 2,400 lawsuits have been raised by consumers.

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman awarded £85 million after blaming her cancer on Johnson’s baby powder

May 7, 2017 | Metro

By Tanveer Mann

Lois Slemp, 62, from Virginia, Missouri, claims she developed the cancer after four decades of using talc products.
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, and the disease has now spread to her liver.
Her lawyers argued that there was evidence as far back as the 1970s linking the use of talcum powder to ovarian cancer.
They also argued the company did not adequately warn about the cancer risks associated with the items.
Ms Slemp, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, said the products she used included J&J’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
The verdict is the largest so far to arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits against J&J over its talc-based products.
Her lawyer, Ted Meadows, said: ‘Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America.’
The verdict included $5.4m in compensatory damages and $105m in punitive damages against J&J.
The company said it planned to appeal, adding in a statement: ‘We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.
‘We deeply sympathise with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer.’

Return to headline | Return to top
Talcum powder cancer case: US pharma giant Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $110m damages

May 8, 2017 | Daily Pakistan

By Dawood Rehman

A cancer patient has won her case against US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over talcum powder products allegedly leading to cancer.
A court in St. Louis, Missouri ordered the company to pay over $110 million to the Virginia woman, who claims she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using its talcum powder.
Lois Slemp won her case against J&J and Imerys Talc. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy, as ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2012 has returned and affected her liver.
The verdict is the largest for J&J among nearly 2,400 current lawsuits accusing the company of insufficient warning to consumers about cancer risks connected to products containing talc.
Most of those suits have been filed in St. Louis. The company has already faced four previous trials, three of which resulted in $197 million verdicts against J&J and its talc supplier.
According to Slemp, cancer developed following four decades of using talc-based products manufactured by the companies, including J&J’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.
“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continued to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Ted Meadows, a lawyer for the suitor said in a statement
The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensation with $105 million to be paid as punitive damages, saying J&J was 99 per cent at fault while Imerys was just one percent responsible, the BBC reported.
J&J sympathises with women impacted by oncological diseases, but plans to appeal, according to a company statement.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year, and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder,” J&J said.
In May 2016, the corporation lost another case over talcum powder products allegedly leading to cancer when a jury awarded $55 million to the plaintiff. Another jury hit J&J and Imerys with a $70 million verdict in October.

Return to headline | Return to top
Woman awarded €100m in latest Johnson & Johnson talcum powder case

May 8, 2017 | Xpose.ie

Last Thursday, Johnson & Johnson were ordered by a US court to pay €100m to a Virginia woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer following years of using it's talcum powder products for feminine hygiene.
62 year old Lois Slemp from Missouri said she developed the cancer after four decades of using talc products. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and it has since spread to her liver.
In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said it sympathized with women impacted by ovarian cancer, but that they planned to appeal.
"We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder,"
The verdict was the largest to arise after over 2,400 similar suits were filed.
It is also not the first time that Johnson & Johnson's talc-powder products have brought negative publicity for the company.
In February 2016, they were ordered to pay $72 million (€65.6) of damages to the family of Jacqueline Fox, whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products.
In May 2016, 62 year old Gloria Ristesund was awarded $55 million (€47.6) after claims that she used Johnson and Johnson's talc-based powder on her genitals for nearly four decades. Following a three week trial, the state court jury in St. Louis awarded Gloria $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

Return to headline | Return to top
J&J ORDERED TO PAY $150M FINE

May 7, 2017 | AJP.com.au

By Janet Doyle

Last week J&J was ordered by a US jury to pay almost AU$150 million to a woman who claimed the talcum powder caused her ovarian cancer, after decades of using of it.
The verdict in state court in St Louis, Missouri, was the largest so far to arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits accusing J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products including Johnson’s Baby Powder.
J&J has faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in $265 million verdicts against J&J and a talc supplier.
The jury awarded $6 million in compensatory damages and said J&J was 99% at fault while Imerys was just 1%.
It awarded punitive damages of $141 million against J&J and $67,400 against Imerys.
J&J in a statement said it sympathised with women impacted by ovarian cancer, but planned to appeal.
“We deeply sympathise with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer,” said Carol Goodrich, Global Media Relations, Johnson & Johnson Consumer.
“We will begin the appeals process following today’s verdict and believe a jury decision in our favor in St. Louis in March and the dismissal of two cases in New Jersey in September 2016 by a state court judge who ruled that plaintiffs’ scientific experts could not adequately support their theories that talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.
“We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”

Return to headline | Return to top
Jury awards record-setting sum in baby powder lawsuit

May 8, 2017 | Health 24

"Excessive litigation" in America creates enormous costs for companies – especially small businesses, many of which can go bankrupt due to a single suit, and according to a new poll sponsored by the Institute for Legal Reform, 87% of voters think that the number of lawsuits in the country is a problem.
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer
A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million (R137.15 million) in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused cancer.
The jury ruling for 62-year-old Lois Slemp, of Wise, Virginia, comes after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million (R226.24 million) to plaintiffs who made similar claims.
Slemp was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. It has since spread to her liver. She blamed her cancer on her use of the company's talcum-containing products for more than 40 years. About 2 000 women nationwide have filed similar suits over concerns about health damage caused by extended talcum powder use.
Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that it would appeal, and disputed the scientific evidence behind the plaintiffs' allegations.
The number of medical malpractice suits in South Africa are increasing and according to the Medical Protection Society (MPS), the largest indemnity backer of healthcare professionals in South Africa, its members experienced a rise of 30% in the average number of claims from 2007 to 2011.

Return to headline | Return to top
TALC TALK What is talcum powder made of, what is the Johnson & Johnson cancer lawsuit and what is baby powder used for?

May 8, 2017 | The Sun

By Becky Pemberton

OFTEN associated with kid’s bath times and your grandparent’s bathroom cabinet, talcum powder has been a household staple for generations But recent lawsuits have seen people being awarded millions in damages after claiming talcum powder gave them cancer, so is it unsafe?What is talcum powder made of?
Talcum powder is made from talc, which is a clay mineral composed of silicon, magnesium and oxygen.
People have taken advantage of its soft and absorbent properties since the times of the ancient Egyptians.
In talc’s most natural form, it contains asbestos, which is known to cause cancer in the lungs when inhaled, but all talcum products in the US have been asbestos-free since the 1970s.
Now talc is used for a variety of reasons as a baby powder, but also can be used in olive oil and in chewing gum and sweets.What is the Johnson & Johnson cancer lawsuit?
The makers of Johnson’s baby powder have been ordered to shell out more than £85million to a US woman who says she got cancer from using its products.
A jury in St Louis, Missouri, awarded the record sum to Lois Slemp, 62, of Wise, Virginia, in the latest court case against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.
Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her four-decade-long use of the company’s talcum powder products.
The disease has now spread to her liver and she was too ill to attend the trial.
Johnson & Johnson said it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind Slemp’s claims.
A statement from the company said: “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
In a similar case last year, ovarian cancer sufferer Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, was awarded more than £58million after she claimed Johnson’s baby power gave her cancer.What is baby powder used for?
Baby powder is used to help absorb moisture on the skin and to prevent odours when it is used as deodorant.
It can also be used to prevent friction and to protect against rashes such as diaper rash.
Baby powder can also be used as a cleaning agent and as shampoo.Does talcum powder cause cancer?
Some studies have found that women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40 per cent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Other research however, has shown either no link or a weak link between cancer the product and most major health groups have declared talc harmless.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic”.

Return to headline | Return to top

Broadcast Coverage

Worldwide Exchange

May 5, 2017 | CNBC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27190014?token=f15dcbcd-9a6c-4ae7-9a94-09ab7d56f0b2

Return to headline | Return to top
Bloomberg Markets: Asia

May 5, 2017 | Bloomberg TV

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27190032?token=f15dcbcd-9a6c-4ae7-9a94-09ab7d56f0b2

Return to headline | Return to top
NBC Nightly News

May 6, 2017 | NBC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220212?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66

Return to headline | Return to top
CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley

May 5, 2017 | CBS

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220215?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66

Return to headline | Return to top
ABC World News

May 6, 2017 | ABC

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27220973?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66

Return to headline | Return to top
Boom Bust

May 5, 2017 | RT News

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27221553?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66

Return to headline | Return to top
The World Today

May 6, 2017 | CGTN

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27221554?token=febdf0b8-3a0e-443c-adf5-a97bfa805f66

Return to headline | Return to top
Morning Express with Robin Meade

May 8, 2017 | HLN

View Clip Here: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27230939?token=cf0b379b-eb94-48b6-b3a2-613fd517b3a9

Return to headline | Return to top

Add recipients

Suggested