Following a jury trial in Missouri’s 22nd Circuit Court, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay more than $110m to a woman who said that feminine hygiene use of the firm’s talc-based products over 40 years caused ovarian cancer, a decision New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J says it will appeal. The eye-popping verdict is the fourth and largest loss for J&J in the continuing legal saga over allegations that talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower can lead to cancer when used for feminine hygiene purposes. It comes after J&J won the last talc case in the same St. Louis court with a new defense team, which was installed following losses in three cases that resulted in jury verdicts of $72m, $55m and $70m in 2016.(Also see "J&J Talc Verdict Clears Firm Of Cancer Blame; Is Tide Turning In St. Louis?" - HBW Insight, 6 March, 2017.). In the latest case, the jury awarded Virginia resident Lois Slemp $5.4m in compensatory damages and $105m in punitive damages after deliberations of more than a day, according to a blog post from the Courtroom View Network. Talc supplier Imerys Talc America was also found partially responsible in the case, and was ordered to pay approximately $100,000.
During the trial, J&J and Imerys both rejected arguments by the plaintiff’s attorneys that the powder used contained asbestos-contaminated talc,...
