Evidence That Baby Powder Causes Ovarian Cancer Should Be Admissible At Trial: Report

This marks the second time the judge has ruled that plaintiffs’ expert witnesses may present testimony to juries asserting that baby powder can cause cancer.

Johnson & Johnson must continue defending tens of thousands of baby powder cancer lawsuits after a former federal judge ruled that plaintiffs presented sufficiently compelling and scientifically reliable evidence to argue that talcum powder exposure can cause cancer.

Talcum powder manufacturers, most notably Johnson & Johnson, have faced allegations for more than a decade that their products were contaminated with asbestos, leading to product recalls and changes in testing practices in recent years. 

Asbestos exposure, even at low levels, is known to cause serious and often life-threatening diseases, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. When directly applied around the genital area, long term use of talcum powder has also been linked to reproductive cancers, such as ovarian cancer in women.

As a result , Johnson & Johnson currently faces more than 90,000 Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits in federal and state courts, each raising similar allegations that the company marketed talc-based products for feminine hygiene purposes, despite knowing that the raw ingredients may be contaminated with asbestos. Plaintiffs claim that routine exposure to the contaminated talc caused them to develop ovarian cancer and other reproductive system cancers.

However, the litigation has been delayed numerous times over the last decade, due to repeated, and failed, attempts by Johnson & Johnson to resolve the litigation through bankruptcy proceedings.

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated the claims as part of a federal talcum powder lawsuit MDL, or multidistrict litigation, in the District of New Jersey, originally under U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson. However, she retired in 2022 amid the delays and the litigation has now been assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp.

Later, Judge Wolfson was retained as a Special Master in the litigation for the purpose of reviewing plaintiffs’ expert witnesses and testimony. While Wolfson had previously approved the expert witnesses, Johnson & Johnson claimed changes in evidence and science since she first approved the witnesses and testimony in 2020 had occurred over the last several years. Judge Shipp agreed to revisit those motions before the first cases go before a jury in the MDL.

However, once again, Judge Wolfson has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, issuing a report and recommendation (PDF) on Tuesday suggesting that plaintiffs be allowed to present their expert witnesses and testimony before federal juries, likely blocking another attempt by the manufacturer to dismiss the litigation on causation grounds.

Judge Wolfson noted that plaintiffs’ experts used reliable science to determine there is a statistically significant link between talcum powder use on the genital area and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuits

The report means Johnson & Johnson is likely to continue to need to face tens of thousands of claims, which have already resulted in a series of massive, multi-million-dollar verdicts by juries who frequently determine the company knowingly and recklessly endangered the lives of its customers.

In December, Johnson & Johnson was hit by the largest verdict so far, being ordered by a Baltimore jury to pay a woman $1.5 billion for her peritoneal mesothelioma diagnosis. That same month, a Minnesota jury ordered the company to pay $65.5 million to Anna Jean Houghton Carley, who also said she developed mesothelioma because of talcum powder use. A separate California jury awarded $40 million to two women who filed talcum powder cancer lawsuits after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

The first federal bellwether trial is expected to begin early this year and will involve a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit brought by Carter Judkins, who indicates she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2016, after more than 30 years of using Johnson’s Baby Powder as part of her daily routine.

While the outcome of the bellwether trials will have no binding effect on other claims, they will be used to gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation. What those juries decide could help determine the potential size of any talcum powder cancer settlement payouts Johnson & Johnson ultimately agrees to pay to resolve future claims.