Product liability claims help ensure that the makers of various products are held accountable for selling harmful products to consumers. Typically the evidence needed to win a defective product liability lawsuit include proof of injury or other damages, proof that the product was defective or lacked proper warnings or instructions that specifically caused the injuries or damages, and that the product was used in the way it was intended.
Recently, Johnson & Johnson was found liable for a woman’s ovarian cancer resulting in a jury award of $10 million for compensatory damages and $62 million for punitive damages to the woman’s estate. The woman, now deceased, and her family claimed that her cancer was the result of using products containing talcum powder produced by the company.
Among the smoking guns introduced as evidence was a 1997 internal memo from a Johnson & Johnson medical consultant suggesting a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. In the memo, the consultant reportedly wrote that anyone who denied the risk between hygienic talc powder use and ovarian cancer would be “denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary”.
The woman’s case is one of multiple civil cases against the company related to talcum-containing products. There are more than 1,200 civil suits against the company related to its talcum-containing products and as more consumers become aware of the link between the use of these products and developing cancer, many more may follow.
Many of the cases that have been filed to date are class action suits, where damages are being sought on behalf of everyone who purchased the product without knowing about the risk of ovarian cancer. Although class actions are designed to maximize efficiency when a lot of people have similar legal claims, they are not designed to maximize compensation for individual plaintiffs with the most severe injuries. In these cases, an individual lawsuit may be the best course of action.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer possibly resulting from the use of products containing talcum powder, contact the Des Moines Law Offices of Stoltze & Stoltze for help.
Source: ABC News, “After Win Against Johnson & Johnson in Talcum Powder Lawsuit, Son Honors His Late Mother”, by Gillian Mohney, February 24, 2016.
