Johnson & Johnson stands accused by several people of failing to warn them about the ovarian cancer risks of some of the company’s talcum powder products. While speculation about the cancer-causing properties of mined talc has been kicked around for years, recent events indicate that Johnson & Johnson will face increasing scrutiny from women who developed ovarian cancer after using J&J’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower talc products.A South Dakota jury in 2013 agreed with the argument that J&J failed to warn a woman that talc products she used for more than 30 years raised her risk of ovarian cancer. That jury awarded no damages, which her lawyer speculated was a direct result of the woman’s cancer being in remission for six years at the time of trial.
In February 2016, however, the surviving family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after using J&J talc products for 35 years was awarded $72 million in damages. The jury agreed that Jacqueline Salter Fox’s use of talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to shower led to her death from ovarian cancer at age 62.
Talc Cancer Link Studies
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has listed talc-based baby powder as a carcinogen since 2010. Others found talc problems decades earlier.
In 1971 W.J. Henderson and other UK researchers published Talc and Carcinoma of the Ovary and Cervix in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (March 1971. Vol. 78. Pp. 266-272).
In 1982 the first study linking feminine hygiene talc use and cancer appeared in the journal Cancer.
Dr. Daniel Cramer
Dr. Daniel Cramer, a Harvard gynecologist, was lead author of the Cancer journal piece. He testified in court that a senior J&J scientist visited him in an attempt to convince him that talc use was harmless. According to Law 360, Dr. Cramer spent his time trying to persuade J&J’s man “that women should be advised of this potential risk.”
J&J Response: failed followup
As the 1982 study cast a pall of doubt on the safety of J&J’s talc products, company spokesman James Murray agreed that more study was needed, and promised to conduct “appropriate new studies.” J&J never followed through on that promise.
Free Legal Consultation
Matthews & Associates Law Firm is investigating ovarian cancer cases allegedly caused by Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. If you or someone you love used J&J Baby Powder or Shower to Shower for a length of time for feminine hygiene and then developed ovarian cancer, contact our talc cancer lawyers for a free legal consultation.
Related
- Talcum Powder Lawsuit
- Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuit
- Talcum Powder Cancer $72 Million Verdict
by Matthews & Associates
