Another Record Talcum-Powder Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson Shows the American Public’s Contempt for Corporate Malfeasance
This past Thursday, a St. Louis jury delivered a staggering verdict against Johnson & Johnson on behalf of 22 ovarian cancer victims whose cancer the jury found to be caused by these women’s exposure to Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-containing talcum powder. The jury slammed J&J with an eye-popping $550 million in compensatory damages and another $4.14 billion in punitive damages for a total verdict of $4.69 billion (with a “B”).
After a six-week trial, it took the St. Louis Circuit Court jury less than a full day to deliberate and return a verdict in favor of the claims of 22 women, six of whom have died, against J&J and its subsidiary Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. The jury unanimously held both J&J and J&J Consumer strictly liable and liable for negligence as to all of the plaintiffs. The jury voted 11-1 for the J&J punitive damages verdict, and unanimously for the J&J Consumer punitive damages verdict.
For the better part of two years now, juries across the country have been rendering verdicts against J&J to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, making their voices heard time and time again in support of the unwitting victims of J&J’s Shower-to-Shower and other talcum powder-based consumer products. But last week’s verdict was, by far, the loudest outcry yet against the company who, the evidence shows, knew all about the deadly hazards of its talcum powder products at least four decades ago, while doing nothing to warn the American consumer and continuing to market and promote its talc products as perfectly safe, particularly for women of all ages.
J&J continues to deny any wrongdoing and tries to cast the jurors who stand up to it as uninformed dupes who are having the wool pulled over their eyes by “slick-talking” lawyers. But the record size and punitive nature of the verdicts that continue to be delivered against J&J, through the country by ordinary Americans from all walks of life, is a clear signal that there is ample scientific evidence to support the link between exposure to J&J talcum powder products and ovarian cancer, as well as ample evidence that J&J knew and tried to cover up that danger to the American consumer. And that the average juror understands exactly the nature and scope of the harm J&J has vested upon thousands of women in the name of profit.
The public could not be any clearer in telling J&J to pull its talc products from shelves and sell only its safe cornstarch alternative instead. Here’s hoping it will finally listen. If you suspect you have been the victim of J&J’s dangerous talcum powder products, you should contact an experienced lawyer right away to discuss your rights.
