Talcum Powder Uterine Cancer Lawsuit Filed for Wrongful Death Against Johnson & Johnson

Amid a growing number of talcum powder lawsuits filed by women nationwide who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer following use of Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower-to-Shower, Johnson & Johnson faces a wrongful death claim brought by a husband who alleges his wife developed uterine cancer following use of the talc-based powders for feminine hygiene over a period of several decades.

The complaint (PDF) was filed last week by Tod Alan Musgrove in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on behalf of himself and the estate of his late wife, Pamela Musgrove, who died of uterine cancer in June 2014.

Tod Musgrove indicates that his wife was born in 1965, and used the talc-based powder products manufactured and sold by Johnson & Johnson for nearly her entire life. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2012.

Johnson & Johnson faces several thousand similar Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits brought by women and families throughout the United States, including many talcum powder wrongful death claims.

Nearly all of the claims filed so far allege that side effects of talcum powder caused ovarian cancer, after the powder was applied to the genitals or placed in the underwear over long periods of time. Many indicate that evidence of talc was found in the ovarian tumors of long-time users of the popular products.

Musgrove alleges that the same mechanism of action caused his wife to develop uterine cancer, indicating that Johnson & Johnson knew or should have known about the link between cancer and talcum powder for decades, yet withheld information from consumers and continued to market use of the products in the underwear and around the genitals, which may cause talc to migrate through the vagina and increase the risk of cancer.

In addition to the risk of ovarian cancer, the complaint points to studies that have also examined the link with endometrial cancer, which is a form of uterine cancer.

“In 2010, one such study analyzed data from a 1976 cohort study of over 66,000 women, and found a statistically significant 21% increased risk of endometrial (uterine) cancer in postmenopausal women who had ever applied talcum powder in the perineal area,” according to the complaint. “This risk rose to 24% for postmenopausal women who applied talc in the perineal area “regularly,” defined as at least once a week.”

Musgrove notes that Johnson & Johnson CEO Ralph Larson was directly informed in November 1994 by the Cancer Prevention Coalition about the risks of talc, which had been noted in studies dating back to the 1960s.

“The letter cited a recent study by Dr. Bernard Harlow from Harvard Medical School confirming this fact and quoted a portion of the study where Dr. Harlow and his colleagues discouraged the use of talc in the female genital area,” the lawsuit states. “The letter further stated that 14,000 women per year die from ovarian cancer and that this type of cancer is very difficult to detect and has a low survival rate. The letter concluded by requesting that Johnson & Johnson withdraw talc products from the market because of the alternative of cornstarch powders, or at a minimum, place warning information on its talc-based body powders about [the] ovarian cancer risk they pose.”

The lawsuit also notes that other industries got the message, with the condom industry deciding to stop dusting condoms with talc due to safety reasons two years later.

In February 2006, the World Health Organization’s International Association for the Research of Cancer (IARC) classified perineal use of talc as a possible carcinogen.

So far this year, at least two cases involving allegations that women developed ovarian cancer from talcum powder have gone before juries nationwide, each resulting in multi-million dollar damage awards after finding that Johnson & Johnson failed to provide adequate ovarian cancer warnings.

Evidence presented in those cases included internal company documents that suggested Johnson & Johnson was aware of the potential link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer since the 1970s. However, even as recently as 1992, some documents indicate that the company specifically targeted sales towards women who were high users of talcum powder, without ever warning them of the possible cancer risks.

If additional juries respond with similar verdicts after considering the evidence, Johnson & Johnson could face substantial liability if talcum powder cancer settlements are not reached to resolve individual claims brought by women and families throughout the U.S.