$100 Million Settlement Offered by J&J
In an uncharacteristic gesture, Johnson & Johnson is offering to pay $100 million to settle more than 1,000 lawsuits. The lawsuits center on the cancer-causing properties of asbestos said to be found in J&J talc powders. The move to settle a large number of lawsuits before trial is not only unprecedented for J&J but may signal a strategy to handle the more than 20,000 pending lawsuits facing the company.
Johnson & Johnson Strategy
One law professor said that J&J generally dislikes settling a case. Yet, it is moving to settle many lawsuits ahead of trial. He said the company is choosing to control the situation when this happens. In other moves to minimize its future exposure, Johnson & Johnson has moved to replace the talc in its products, substituting it with corn starch. This will limit the number of cases in the years to come.
Johnson & Johnson Set Up Provisions for Settlements
Johnson & Johnson reported in their July filing that they had set aside a reserve for ongoing court expenses. In addition, money had been set aside to settle pending mesothelioma cases.
J&J Does Not Admit Fault Despite Settlements
A Johnson & Johnson representative, Kim Montagnino, said that the company does settle lawsuits from time to time. However, she stressed that such settlements do not mean the company admits liability. She noted that the company believed that its talc products are safe since they do not contain asbestos, nor are they capable of causing cancer. In 2019, 33,000 bottles of J&J powder were recalled after asbestos was discovered in the talc.
Company Knew About Asbestos Contamination
Injury lawyers for the people harmed by using talc say that the company knew about asbestos contamination since the 1970s, as found in Johnson & Johnson’s internal documents. It was discovered that talc from Italy and Vermont, where J&J received most of the product, contained asbestos. However, despite this knowledge, the company failed to tell consumers about it.
Asbestos Contamination Causes Cancer
Asbestos is known to be carcinogenic. It was first linked to a disease of the lining of the lungs and abdomen in the 1940s. This disease, called mesothelioma, causes tumor formation in the lining of internal organs. Beginning in the 1940s in Germany, study after study showed that asbestos was linked to cancer. Today, this is widely accepted.
In the talc powder case, two types of cancer resulted from its use. The first was mesothelioma, usually of the lungs, called pleural mesothelioma. The other was ovarian cancer due to the application of talc powder to the genitals for hygiene.
Number of Lawsuits Against J&J
The number of lawsuits against J&J has risen to roughly 20,000. In the past year alone, the number of cases went from 16,800 in September 2019 to the current case count. It is estimated by Bloomberg that settling all pending cases would cost J&J about $10 billion.
Subsequent Trial About to Begin
The latest trial will begin in Oakland, California, in October. The case is Rosalino Reyes III vs. Johnson & Johnson. Reyes alleges that using J&J talc powder for 50 years resulted in his mesothelioma, diagnosed last year.
Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawyer
I am Ed Smith, a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawyer. It is wrong when a company fails to take all steps to keep consumers safe. This is true for car manufacturers and companies producing talcum powder for babies. I stand ready to help people dealing with a cancer diagnosis due to a company’s lack of care and greed. Call me at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice. If it is easier for you, reach out to me online.
I have helped numerous clients since 1982 who have suffered trauma at the hands of another. From those who developed mesothelioma or ovarian cancer to families dealing with wrongful death, I am here to help them obtain the compensation they deserve.
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