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Talcum Powder Lawsuit

Case Update 2021: J&J has announced that it has resolved over 1,000 talcum powder lawsuits with a $100 million settlement. This announcement comes after J&J announced that it will stop selling its talc-based baby powder products in the United States and Canada.

We have taken on big pharma before

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MERCK

Manufacturer of VIOXX which received a
$4.85 billion settlement for victims.

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AMERICAN HOMEPRODUCTS

Makers of “Fen-Phen” diet drug which
received a $3.75 billion settlement for victims.

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3M & MCGHAN MEDICAL CORP

Makers of silicon breast implants. Plaintiffs were
awarded $4 billion for damages.

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Johnson & Johnson ‘Knew for DECADES there was
cancer-causing asbestos in its Talcum Powder’

For decades, millions of women have used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder and their Shower to Shower brands as part of a daily hygiene routine. However, recent court documents reveal Johnson & Johnson has been in possession of scientific studies indicating that women who regularly use these products for hygienic use have higher rates of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma diagnosis due to the product containing asbestos – a known carcinogen. Johnson & Johnson has denied this knowledge and is now facing lawsuits claiming that the corporation’s talcum powder products have caused users to develop cancer. Users of talcum powder, who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, should contact Baker Legal Team for legal representation.

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Talcum Powder Lawsuit Attorney

What is Baby Powder?

Baby powder is now a generic term used for talcum powder. The basis of talcum powder is talc, a mineral mostly made up of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. In powder form, talc is absorbent and helps cut down on friction. Although the use of talc dates back as far as ancient Egypt, the modern iteration of the now common household product dates back to the late 19th century.

Frederick Barnett Kilmer, the director of scientific affairs at Johnson & Johnson, suggested sending customers a container of Italian talc to soothe their skin when irritated by another product. Customers were so pleased with the talc that the company began selling it. The first tins of Johnson’s Baby Powder were sold in 1893.

For more than a century, women sprinkled the powder on their undergarments and genitals to reduce friction and absorb moisture. In fact, products like Shower to Shower were directly marketed for use on and around the genitals to help with discomfort for years. However, mounting evidence has proven that talcum-based products like Baby Powder contain asbestos and are not as safe as they were originally thought to be.

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You’ll work directly with Robert Baker, a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney who has recovered over 250 Million Dollars. Less than 1% of Florida Attorneys are Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyers.

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Robert began his career as a prosecutor working as an Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, New York. With over 30 years of experience, you’ll have one of Florida’s leading experts in personal injury on your side.

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Robert has considerable jury trial experience and has argued before the Florida Supreme Court, winning an appeal that changed the landscape of uninsured/ underinsured motor vehicle laws.

Talcum Powder Linked to Ovarian Cancer

- The Trial Lawyer Magazine Winter 2020 Edition -

New Study Lends More Proof to Link Between Talc and Ovarian Cancer

A new study published on September 22, 2020, in Gynecologic Oncology further reinforces the association between the talc in baby powder and ovarian cancer. In the study, Kurt E. Johnson, Anastas Popratiloff, Yuwei Fan, Sandra McDonald, and John J. Godleski measured the physical attributes, including size and shape, of the talc particles that make up baby talcum powder. They then compared the data they gathered with the size and shape of talc particles in tissues that had been surgically removed from patients with ovarian cancer. The researchers used polarized light microscopy (PLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to measure the particles of talc in samples of talc-containing baby powder (TCBP) as well as the talc particles in the pelvic tissues taken during hysterectomies of ovarian cancer patients who had reported talc exposure. According to the study, particles that most frequently appeared in the TCBP samples were “unequivocally identified as talc. ” Within the resected tissues taken from ovarian cancer patients, the talc particles were similar in size and shape to the most frequent class of TCBP sample particles.

Talcum Powder Lawsuit Attorney
Talcum Powder Lawsuit Attorney

Specifically, the study highlights these findings:

• TCBP Particles: 77.7 percent had an aspect ratio of 1-3.9
and an area of 1-400 μm2

• Pelvic Tissues Talc Particles: 83.5 percent had an aspect
ratio of 1-3.9 and an area of 1-400 μm2

 

The researchers denoted these similarities to be “statistically significant.” According to the study’s authors, their findings, when considered with previous epidemiological literature and studies that analyzed tissues, deepens the evidence supporting that TCBP talc particles can migrate from the area between the anus and the vulva in females (the perineum) and find themselves lodged in structures within the female reproductive tract. Here, these particles can contribute to an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

OUR RESULTS

$ BILLION
Payment to victims who took the diet drug "Fen-Phen"
$ BILLION
Settlement for victims who used VIOXX
$ BILLION
Settlement against 3M and McGhan for defective breast implants

Talcum Powder Lawsuit Verdicts and Settlement Amounts

  • In October 2020, Johnson & Johnsons agreed to pay $100 million to resolve more than 1,000 lawsuits in which plaintiffs allege that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder causes cancer.
  • In March 2019, a California jury awarded $30 million to Teresa Leavitt who was diagnosed with mesothelioma which the jury found was caused by the use of Johnson & Johnson talcum powder.
  • In July 2018, a St. Louis jury awarded 22 women $4.6 billion against Johnson & Johnson for causing them to suffer ovarian cancer related to the use of baby powder and asbestos fibers contained in the J&J product.
  • In May 2018, Joanne Anderson received a $25 million jury verdict after a jury concluded that Ms. Anderson's mesothelioma was caused by her use of talcum powder on her children and while she bowled.
  • In April 2018, Stephen Lanzo was awarded $37 million in compensatory damages, and $80 million in punitive damages, against Johnson & Johnson over claims that he contracted mesothelioma caused by extensive use of talc powder products that contained asbestos.
  • In August 2017, Eva Echeverria received a $417 million jury verdict. She was dying from stage 4 ovarian cancer, after having used baby powder on a daily basis from the 1950s through 2016. The verdict included $68 million in compensatory damages and $340 million in punitive damages.
  • In May 2017, a St. Louis jury awarded $110 million to Louis Slemp who was being treated for aggressive ovarian cancer that had metastasized to her liver. She had used baby powder for more than 40 years.
  • In November 2016, a California jury returned a verdict of $70 million for Deborah Giannecchini. She was undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, and had used talcum powder for more than 40 years. Sixty-five million dollars of the verdict was for punitive damages.
  • In May 2016, a jury found in favor of Gloria Ristesund, who was being treated for ovarian cancer. She had used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder for decades. The amount awarded was $55 million.
  • In February 2016, a jury determined that Johnson & Johnson was responsible for the death of Jacqueline Fox, who had been using talcum powder for personal hygiene for more than 35 years. The total award was $72 million, including $62 million in punitive damages.
  • As of September 2020, more than 20,000 lawsuits were pending in federal court against the manufacturers of talcum powder by individuals claiming to have suffered cancer from exposure to this product. The cases are being heard by Judge Freda Wolfson in the District of New Jersey.

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