A Los Angeles jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $40 million to two women who allege that the company’s talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer. The jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband, marking a significant outcome in a prolonged legal battle regarding the safety of talc-based products.
The verdict was delivered on Friday, October 27, 2023, and is part of ongoing litigation that connects the talc in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder with various types of cancer, including mesothelioma, a serious cancer affecting the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied these claims and stated they intend to appeal the jury’s decision, asserting that they have successfully defended against the majority of similar cases, winning 16 of 17 trials related to ovarian cancer.
The attorney representing Kent and Schultz, Daniel Robinson of the Robinson Calcagnie law firm in Newport Beach, California, emphasized the loyalty the women showed to Johnson & Johnson, stating, “The only thing they did was be loyal to Johnson & Johnson as a customer for only 50 years. That loyalty was a one-way street.”
In response to the verdict, Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice president of litigation, expressed disappointment and reiterated the company’s stance on the safety of talc. He described the jury’s findings as “irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming that talc is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
The company has taken measures in recent years to address concerns regarding talc. In 2020, it replaced talc with cornstarch in its baby powder sold in most of North America after experiencing a decline in sales. Despite these changes, legal challenges continue, including a recent ruling in October from another California jury, which ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, allegedly linked to the company’s talcum powder contaminated with asbestos.
In April 2023, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge rejected Johnson & Johnson’s proposed $9 billion settlement plan aimed at resolving ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancer claims related to talc products. This ongoing legal saga reflects the growing scrutiny faced by the healthcare giant regarding the safety of its long-standing products.
As the appeal process unfolds, the impact of this latest jury verdict will likely resonate within the broader context of public health and consumer safety, highlighting the complex relationship between major corporations and their products.
