J&J beats lawsuit alleging that talc caused three women's cancer

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson

JNJ

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By Dietrich Knauth

- A Los Angeles jury on Friday sided with Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N in a lawsuit by the families of three women who alleged that the company's talc products caused ovarian cancer, finding that J&J was not negligent when selling cosmetic talc products.

  • The lawsuit was filed by the families of Mary Owens, Bonnie Tienken and Geneva Williams, who each died of ovarian cancer after using talc-based baby powder

  • J&J said its products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and ​do not cause cancer

  • J&J faces lawsuits from over 67,000 plaintiffs alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer

  • Trials have resumed after J&J failed to resolve the lawsuits in bankruptcy court

  • J&J has a mixed record in trials, winning some cases outright but also being hit with large verdicts in other cases

  • J&J also prevailed in a jury trial in Oklahoma last week

  • J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, switching to a cornstarch product

  • The case was tried in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles

  • J&J vice president of litigation Erik Haas said on Friday that the case was based on "junk science"

  • Ten of the 12 jurors found that J&J was not negligent when making and selling talc-based cosmetic powder, according to proceedings viewed on Courtroom View Network

  • J&J has settled a majority of cases alleging that its products caused mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer associated with asbestos

  • Nearly all of the remaining cases allege that talc products cause ovarian cancer