Talcum Powder Lawsuit
Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit Update 2023
The award-winning legal team from Wisner Baum represents clients from across
the nation in talcum powder lawsuit claims against Johnson & Johnson.
The lawsuits allege prolonged use of Johnson & Johnson Shower to Shower,
Baby Powder and other talc products can cause ovarian cancer, and that
J&J failed to warn the public about the health risk.
Wisner Baum’s injury attorneys provide free, no-obligation baby powder
lawsuit case evaluations. Contact us
or call (855) 948-5098
today.
Latest News on Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
February 9, 2023: Johnson & Johnson has indicated it will appeal the Third Circuit’s
decision to reject the company’s bankruptcy gambit. The talcum powder
lawyers at Wisner Baum believe the company will be unsuccessful in this
endeavor and the cases will continue to move forward.
Other talcum powder lawsuit news to report today – a new judge has
been assigned to handle the talc litigation. The Honorable Judge Michael
A. Shipp for the U.S. District of New Jersey will preside over this new
stage of the litigation.
The order came after Judge Freda L. Wolfson’s retirement. Judge Wolfson presided
over the talcum powder litigation for roughly seven years.
Unless J&J is able to get the bankruptcy stay continued while awaiting
whether SCOTUS will take up its appeal, we believe Judge Shipp will revive
the bellwether process, which means trials that were previously postponed
will be rescheduled.
January 31, 2023: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected Johnson &
Johnson’s attempt to offload its liability in baby powder lawsuits
by transferring them to a subsidiary company and filing for bankruptcy.
In its ruling, the Third Circuit held that LTL Management—the subsidiary
company J&J created to transfer thousands of talcum powder lawsuit
claims and file for bankruptcy—was not eligible for bankruptcy protection
because LTL Management was not in “financial distress,” and
thus the bankruptcy was not filed in good faith.
How does the J&J bankruptcy decision affect talcum powder lawsuits?
First, the bankruptcy filing placed a stay on claims, meaning that baby
powder lawsuits were on hold and no new lawsuits could be filed. With
the Third Circuit’s decision, the stay is lifted and proceedings
in the pending talcum powder lawsuits can resume. It also means new talc
lawsuits can be filed.
September 19, 2022:
The New Yorker published an outstanding piece detailing Johnson & Johnson’s
marketing of its baby powder products, the talc litigation, and the company’s
brazen attempt to manipulate its liability via bankruptcy proceedings.
The article includes background on Deane Berg’s talcum powder case,
the first to go before a jury. Prior the trial, Berg told the New Yorker
that J&J offered her a six-figure settlement agreement. Berg asked
if the company would add a warning label to its baby powder? No, J&J’s
lawyers said, then upped their settlement offer, contingent on Berg never
saying that talcum powder caused her cancer (per the New Yorker, J&J
denies Berg’s memory of the events). Berg, courageously said: “If
you’re not going to put a warning on the powder and you’re
not going to tell women, I’ll see you in court.”
August 11, 2022: Johnson and Johnson announced that it will
no longer sell baby powder products globally in 2023. J&J removed baby powder products from the U.S. and Canada in 2020
based on the growing number of baby powder lawsuits. According to Reuters,
J&J is facing 38,000 talcum powder lawsuits alleging asbestos contamination
caused cancer. A
2018 Reuters investigation uncovered that J&J had known for decades about asbestos contamination
in their baby powder products.
July 20, 2022: Talcum powder cancer lawyers representing plaintiffs filed an appeal to
challenge Johnson and Johnson’s attempt to shield its liability
via the bankruptcy process. Oral arguments are likely to occur in the fall.
May 22, 2022: Johnson & Johnson shareholders
recently voted on whether or not the company should cease sales of its baby powder products.
Despite the jury verdicts finding talcum powder exposure caused several
women to develop ovarian cancer, shareholders voted to continue selling
baby powder.
February 25, 2022: A federal judge has allowed Johnson & Johnson to
proceed with a controversial bankruptcy filing that talcum powder attorneys say is a bad faith effort to avoid responsibility
for allegedly causing thousands of women to develop ovarian cancer. Judge
Michael Kaplan acknowledged that his ruling would cause frustration but
noted that bankruptcy would offers an efficient remedy for the talc litigation.
The ruling effectively places talcum powder lawsuits on hold and stops
new claims from coming in, a significant win for one of the world’s
richest corporations.
Facing 38,000 talcum powder lawsuits, J&J created a subsidiary company
called LTL Management under Texas State law, assigned the new company
legal liability for the litigation, then filed for bankruptcy. The maneuver,
known as the “Texas Two-Step,” has drawn scrutiny from the
legal community as well as members of Congress.
“We need to close this loophole for good," said Senator Dick
Durbin (D-IL) earlier this month. "Bankruptcy is supposed to be a
good-faith way to accept responsibility, pay one's debts as best you can,
and then receive a second chance, not a Texas two-step, get-out-of-jail-free
card for some of the wealthiest corporations on earth like Johnson &
Johnson.”
Talcum powder lawyers representing plaintiffs said they will appeal the
judge’s ruling.
October 21, 2021: Johnson & Johnson has made a controversial maneuver to avoid responsibility
in the talcum powder litigation. Using Texas law, the company created
a subsidiary called LTL Management, which the company used to absorb all
of its talc-related liabilities. Last week, LTL filed for bankruptcy,
thus drastically limiting plaintiffs’ ability to recover damages
in the talcum powder litigation. Instead of being able to pursue damages
against one of the world’s largest corporations, plaintiffs may
be forced to pursue damages against a smaller spinoff company created
by J&J.
Lindsey Simon, a bankruptcy expert at the University of Georgia School
of Law, recently published a paper on this corporate practice entitled, “Bankruptcy Grifters.” According to Simon, Johnson & Johnson and other wealthy corporations
receive the benefits of Chapter 11 protection while “incurring only
a fraction of the associated burdens.” Simon also told
NPR that the maneuver gives Johnson and Johnson significant advantages in
negotiations that are likely to follow over a potential talcum powder
settlement.
Research on Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer
Talcum powder is made from the mineral talc, which is an ingredient in
a wide variety of products we use each and every day. When talc is crushed
into a powder, it can absorb moisture, oils and odor, making it popular
for use in bath and body products. Talcum powder can also be used as a
lubricant or an astringent on human skin.
According to Bloomberg, researchers discovered the possibility of a link between talcum powder
and ovarian cancer about 45 years ago. Johnson & Johnson, which brought
in an estimated $374 million in 2014 from talcum product sales, has
denied this link for decades despite the growing body of peer-reviewed research underscoring the ovarian
cancer and talcum powder link.
Below are some of the major talcum powder cancer studies:
-
1971 – Researchers found talc particles while studying the ovarian cellular
tissues of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The study, which was published in
The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth, warned that the “potentially harmful effects of talc…in
the ovary…should not be ignored.” This is when the medical
community first became aware that talc particles can easily migrate from
the vagina into the reproductive organs when baby powder is used for feminine hygiene.
-
1982 – A study published in the
medical journal Cancer showed the first statistical link between feminine hygiene talcum powder
use and ovarian cancer. This study found that women who used sanitary
napkins with talcum powder were three times more likely to develop ovarian
cancer when compared to those who didn’t use sanitary napkins with
talcum powder.
-
1992 – A
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology study which found that frequent use of baby powder increases a woman’s
risk of developing ovarian cancer threefold. The same year, an internal
Johnson & Johnson memo stated that “negative publicity from
the health community on talc (inhalation, dust, negative doctor endorsement,
cancer linkage) continues.” While acknowledging this negative publicity
surrounding reported health risks, the memo also made a recommendation
to “investigate ethnic (African-American, Hispanic) opportunities
to grow the franchise,” noting that African-American and Hispanic
women account for a large proportion of J&J’s baby powder sales.
-
1997 – An
American Journal of Epidemiology study affirmed that perineal talcum powder use contributes to the risk of developing
cancer. The baby powder cancer study further suggested that the use of
talcum genital deodorant sprays also contribute to cancer growth.
-
2003 –
Anticancer Research performed a meta-analysis of 16 talcum powder studies and found “statistically
significant” data suggesting that feminine hygiene use of talcum
powder increased the risk developing ovarian cancer by 33 percent. Nonetheless,
the study reported no causal relationship.
-
2008 – In a study published by
Cancer Epidemiology, researchers from Harvard University compared approximately 1,400 women,
who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, to 1,800 healthy women. The
baby powder cancer study found that the use of talcum powder was associated
with a 36 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
-
2013 – A
Cancer Prevention Research study found that feminine hygiene use of talcum powder was associated
with a 20 to 30 percent increased risk in developing ovarian cancer.
The results of the last three studies prompted the World Health Organization
(WHO) to classify talc as a “possible human carcinogen.” It
should be noted that the studies listed above are not the only ones to
find a link between baby powder and ovarian cancer. Since 1982, there
have been
20 other epidemiological studies finding that long-term use of baby powder
for feminine hygiene increases one’s risk of developing ovarian cancer.
How Does Talcum Powder Cause Cancer?
Baby powder is made from talc, which is a mineral primarily comprised of
magnesium, silicon and oxygen. Plaintiffs in the litigation against Johnson
& Johnson allege talcum powder products contain asbestos, which is
a highly carcinogenic mineral often found next to talc underground. Additionally,
when talcum powder is used on the genitals, talc particles can easily
migrate from the vagina into the ovaries, where they remain trapped. These trapped talc particles cause inflammation,
which can lead to the growth of cancer cells.
Despite the volume of studies pointing to the connection between baby powder
and ovarian cancer, neither
Johnson & Johnson nor the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ever
warned consumers in the United States about the health risks. Even after scientists with the National Toxicology Program (an arm of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) voted 13-2 to list feminine
hygiene use of talcum powder as a possible human carcinogen, Johnson &
Johnson has continued to deny the link to ovarian cancer and refused to
put a warning label on its baby powder products – although in May
2020, the company made the extraordinary decision to pull its talc-based
Baby Powder from North American markets.
Time and time again, Johnson & Johnson has referred to the volume of
studies finding a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer as inconclusive
or “junk science.” This stance, as well as the company’s
failure to inform the public about the link between baby powder and cancer,
has compelled over 1,000 women to file baby powder cancer lawsuits over
the last eight years.
Call
(855) 948-5098 or complete the
online form to get in touch with our legal team.