MONTGOMERY, Ala., Aug. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Another jury
has found that Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) talcum powder
products cause cancer, prompting attorneys representing thousands
of cancer victims to demand that the company take responsibility
for damages brought by its defective consumer products and its
failure to warn generations of women about talc-cancer links.
The $26.5 million verdict by a
California jury on August 26 continues to send a message – amplified
in numerous earlier trials – that decades of hiding the truth about
the carcinogenic properties of talcum powder must end, says an
attorney who's leading the fight against J&J.
"The evidence from J&J's own records clearly shows a
50-year-old pattern of corporate cover-ups and manipulation of
research on the dangers of talc use," said Andy Birchfield, head of the Mass Torts Section
at the Beasley Allen Law Firm. "This verdict is just the latest
step in exposing the shameful lengths this company went through to
keep selling its iconic product while putting lives in danger."
Jurors in Alameda County
awarded $26.5 million in compensatory
damages against J&J for causing the mesothelioma cancer of
35-year-old Christina Prudencio, a
former teacher. According to trial testimony of her mother and
sister, Ms. Prudencio was directly and indirectly exposed to
Johnson's Baby Powder for more than two decades.
Several jury trials and news reports in recent years have
documented that J&J's talc-based products – including Johnson's
Baby Powder and Shower to Shower – were sometimes tainted with
carcinogenic asbestos and that J&J historically kept that
information from regulators and the public. Last year, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration released a report that found roughly
20 percent of talc-based powders and makeup samples tested by the
agency contained asbestos.
In May 2020, Johnson & Johnson
announced the company would no longer make or market talc-based
powders for the North American market. In June, the U.S.
Supreme Court declined to hear evidence from a
$2.1 billion judgment against the
company entered by the Missouri
Court of Appeals and upheld by the Missouri Supreme
Court. That appellate court found that J&J had engaged in
"reprehensible conduct" for decades by repeatedly denying the known
association between talc use and ovarian cancer.
In response to ongoing litigation and mounting jury verdicts,
the company has threatened to bundle those liabilities into a
separate entity, which would then seek bankruptcy protection. Such
a scheme would eliminate the rights of thousands of ovarian cancer
victims to have their claims resolved before a judge and
jury.
"Rather than attempt a cynical, greedy ploy to seek insolvency
for a $500 billion company, J&J
should simply come clean and seek a resolution that acknowledges
the company's negligence and establishes a means for fairly
compensating victims both now and in the future," said
Birchfield.
Media Contact:
Mike Androvett
214-507-5456
mike@androvett.com
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SOURCE Beasley Allen Law Firm