J&J Stands Firm After Baby Powder Lawsuit Loss

The health care giant remains dedicated to the belief that the talcum powder lawsuits filed against the company have no merit.

Thursday, November 10, 2016 - Despite a year that has seen three consecutive talcum powder trials end as heavy victories for plaintiffs, Johnson & Johnson maintains its stance that baby powder products produced by the company are not linked to an increased risk in ovarian cancer. More than 20 medically research studies have discovered links between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, and upwards of 2,000 Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuits filed around the country take the opposite side of the argument and claim the company has knowingly withheld information from consumers. The plaintiffs thus far have held the upper hand in court, though Johnson & Johnson isn't bereft of ways to move forward.

Johnson & Johnson's spokesperson spoke following a recent $70 million penalty levied against the company following a talcum powder trial in St. Louis, saying that the company still believes that the science behind the claims made against the company lies on their side. The legal precedent behind this argument was recently set in New Jersey after a judge overseeing more than 200 talcum powder lawsuits in multicounty litigation dismissed two expert witnesses after determining that their testimony did not stand up to the Hill criteria. This led to a pair of Johnson & Johnson's baby powder lawsuits set to stand trial in the coming weeks to be dismissed.

That development led to optimism around Johnson & Johnson concerning the direction of the nationwide talcum powder lawsuit litigation. Although this judge only presiding over the state lawsuits brought by talcum powder lawyers in New Jersey, the company lauded the decision and looked for the ruling to potentially influence future trials. However, the $70 million penalty in St. Louis came just a month after the dismissal of the witnesses in New Jersey, indicating that not all judges were out of sync with the nature of the testimony and that juries were still having a hard time buying Johnson & Johnson's line on the lack of a correlation between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

The company has vowed however it will continue to seek to dismiss witness and evidence pointing toward a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. It has referenced stances by a number of agencies, including the FDA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, that have not been conclusive on the nature of the link between the disease and their popular cosmetic.

The volume of evidence against Johnson & Johnson however is only growing, with a number of talcum powder ovarian cancer studies and news stories coming out each year. The number of talcum powder lawsuits filed against the company in the coming months is also only expected to grow following the big-money losses Johnson & Johnson suffered in 2016.

The are some legal experts calling on the company to settle the baby powder cancer lawsuits pending against them, especially given how high the recent damages have run. Johnson & Johnson for the time being is still attempting to fight the evidence and testimony being filed against them, though another trial or two in favor of the plaintiffs could change their tune going forward.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.