Awareness About Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer Link Rises Following Massive Jury Verdict

Following a $72 million verdict earlier this week in a case involving a woman who died from ovarian cancer caused by talcum powder, substantial media attention has been focused on the growing number of Johnson’s Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower powder lawsuits pending nationwide, raising awareness about the cancer risks linked to the products.

On Monday, a St. Louis jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $10 million in compensatory damages to the family of Jackie Fox, as well as an additional $62 million in punitive damages that are designed to punish the manufacturer based on the troubling evidence that information was withheld from women about the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

Internal company memos and documents presented at trial highlighted how the manufacturer knew about the potential risk for years, and told its own consultants that there was a connection. However, the talcum powder warnings provided with Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower suggest that users only need to worry about avoiding contact with their eyes, inhaling the powder or applying to areas of broken skin.

Johnson’s Baby Powder is the most widely used brand of talcum powder product on the market, which is commonly associated with use on infants to smooth skin and prevent diaper rash. However, it is also popular among adult women for feminine hygiene purposes and as a general body power. As a result of the popularity, Johnson & Johnson introduced Shower-to-Shower talcum powder specifically for this use.

Since the eye-opening verdict was announced, almost every major media outlet has highlighted the on-going scientific debate over the potential cancer risks with talcum powder, and awareness about the problems has hit a new level.

The case filed by the Fox family is only one of about 1,200 talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits pending against Johnson & Johnson nationwide, each involving similar allegations that the manufacturer placed their desire for profits before consumer safety by withholding information and warnings from consumers and the public in general.

The complaints point to studies that have found talcum powder may migrate through the vagina and into the fallopian tubes, uterus and overaies, with evidence of talc found in the ovarian tumors of many women who are the subject of the lawsuits.

In October 2013, a South Dakota jury heard evidence in a similar case, finding that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn about the risk of ovarian cancer from talcum powder, but no damages were awarded. That case involved a 56 year old woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006, with three doctors who examined her cancer tissue indicating that evidence of talc was found in tissue using an electron microscope.

While a number of cases are pending in Missouri state court, there are also a growing number filed in New Jersey state court, which is where Johnson & Johnson’s headquarters are based.

In November 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided to centralize the litigation before one judge where the pretrial proceedings will be handled in a manner similar to a talcum powder class action lawsuit, avoiding duplicative discovery into common issues in the cases and potentially contradictory rulings from different judges. However, if Johnson & Johnson fails to negotiation settlements for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it could face hundreds of individual trials brought by plaintiffs nationwide.