Baby Powder Lawsuits Revived by N.J. Appellate Court
An appeals court decision in New Jersey has revived two lawsuits against the iconic Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. The cases allege that the product caused the plaintiffs’ ovarian cancer. The revival of the two New Jersey lawsuits may result in the reinstatement of approximately 1,000 other lawsuits involving the talcum-powder based product.
The decision was handed down in the New Jersey Superior Court by a three-judge panel. The stated basis for the reinstatement was that the prior trial judge had erroneously thrown out testimony from experts supporting the claims of two women that talcum powder caused their ovarian cancers. The appeals court cleared the cases to move forward to trial, and could potentially affect the other talc cases currently on hold before the same lower court judge.
One of the plaintiff’s lawyers stated that in New Jersey, there are roughly 1,000 ovarian cancer lawsuits currently filed, and more to come. He believes the recent ruling has paved the way for the other cases to proceed to trial.
No Home-Court Advantage
Of course, that is not good news for the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson. The company had previously sought to transfer most of the talcum powder litigation to New Jersey, believing that it may give them a local advantage. The recent appeals ruling, coupled with the jury award in February of $750 million in a baby powder case, points to that belief being untrue.
Company Claims Product is Safe
Johnson & Johnson’s statements throughout have maintained the same message – that they are prepared to defend their product’s safety in the course of the lawsuits. They assert that their talcum powder product is asbestos-free and not a carcinogen.
Number of Lawsuits on the Rise
Despite its assertion of safety, Johnson & Johnson pulled the iconic talc-based Baby Powder off the United States and Canadian markets in May 2020. The number of cases that allege that the product caused cancer has increased 15 percent in the past eight months. There are more than 20,000 talcum powder lawsuits pending. Some of those cases allege that the talc itself was the cancer-causing agent, while other cases allege that the powder was contaminated with asbestos.
It has been estimated that given the increasing number of cases, Johnson & Johnson may have to pay as much as $10 billion in order to resolve the lawsuits.
Judge Decided a Jury Issue
In the decision earlier this month, the New Jersey three-judge appellate panel decided that it had been wrong of the lower court judge to make an assessment of the plaintiffs’ experts’ credibility and exclude their testimony. The panel said that the decision on expert credibility is an issue for the jury, not the judge, to decide.
Another Defendant Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Another defendant in the talc cases, Imerys Talc America, mined the talc used in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder. That company filed for bankruptcy last year and offered to settle 14,000+ talcum powder lawsuits by selling the company and other Imerys units in the course of the bankruptcy action and placing the proceeds of the sale into a trust for plaintiffs.
Watch the YouTube video about baby powder lawsuits.
Sacramento Products Liability Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Products Liability Lawyer in Sacramento. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a disease or has otherwise been injured after taking a hazardous medication or using a defective product, we are here to offer free, friendly, and compassionate advice at (916) 921-6400 or toll-free at (800) 404-5400.
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Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/law-justice-court-judge-legal-1063249/
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