Compensation for Ovarian Cancer Victims who used Talcum Powder

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Appeals Court Awards $2.1 Billion to Talc-Based Ovarian Cancer Victims.

A Missouri appeals court has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.1 billion to women who claimed the company’s talc-based products caused their ovarian cancer.

The decision by the Eastern District Missouri Court of Appeals cut in half the amount of compensatory and punitive damages the company is required to pay compared with a previous jury verdict, according to reports.

The jury verdict from July 2018 had ordered $4.69 billion paid after allegations by 22 women and their families, but the court ruled to reduce the damages owed because it said some of the plaintiffs were from out of state and should not have been included in the suit, St. Louis Today reported.

Johnson & Johnson had appealed the verdict, requesting the court throw out the decision entirely, which the court declined to do, saying it had found “significant reprehensibility” in the company’s conduct. The court cited in its decision internal memorandums as far back as the 1960s indicating the company’s talcum products contained asbestos, a known carcinogen.

“A reasonable inference from all this evidence is that, motivated by profits, defendants disregarded the safety of consumers despite their knowledge the talc in their products caused ovarian cancer,” the ruling said, according to The New York Times.

The plaintiffs “showed clear and convincing evidence defendants engaged in conduct that was outrageous because of evil motive or reckless indifference,” the court said.

Johnson & Johnson has to pay $500 million in actual damages and $1.62 billion in punitive damages.

Johnson & Johnson to discontinue sales of talc-based baby powder in U.S., Canada

After decades of denying the link between its Talcum Powder products and cancer and attempting to cover up the presence of asbestos in its Talc, Johnson and Johnson finally pulled their talc based products from the market in the United States and Canada…

Jury awards $4.69 billion to 22 women who suffered ovarian cancer after long term use of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. Learn more https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/13/health/4-69-billion-verdict-johnson–johnson-talcum-powder/index.html

The jury award includes $550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages. It’s the largest verdict against the company that has sold Baby Powder and Shower to Shower brand talcum powder for decades.

The jurors sat through weeks of testimony listening to experts who explained the complicated science, workers at Johnson & Johnson who said their product was safe. They also heard from the cancer survivors themselves and the loved ones of six plaintiffs who have died from their cancer.

The first link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer complications was established in 1971, when British researchers found talc particles “deeply embedded” in ten of the 13 ovarian tumors they examined. In 1982, the medical journal Cancer published research indicating that, when used for a prolonged period of time, talc particles from body powder used for feminine hygiene can enter a woman’s upper genital tract, possibly resulting in ovarian cancer. Over the past three decades, several new studies have examined the potential connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, and found that the risk may be as high as 33%.