A jury in California has ruled that Johnson & Johnson talcum powder causes cancer in humans, and has awarded one of its victims over $417m in compensation.
Eva Echeverria, who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson’s baby powder, says the ruling by the Federal court vindicates her and thousands of others who have been diagnosed with cancer directly as a result of using the infamous talcum powder.
Sky News reports: The consumer goods company said it would appeal against the verdict handed down at the Los Angeles Superior Court.
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The sum is the largest single financial hit so far from a string of cases it is facing related to the cancer allegations, which it denies.
Most centre on claims that the company allegedly failed to warn women about a risk that the mineral talc could cause ovarian cancer.
Ms Echeverria was awarded $70m in compensatory damages and $347m in punitive damages.
J&J’s lawyers said the verdict did not follow the evidence because various scientific studies, including by federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, had not found talc products to be carcinogenic.
Its statement read: “We will appeal today’s verdict because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
It was in February last year that it lost its first damages lawsuit.
The family of Jaqueline Fox, who died of ovarian cancer aged 62, claimed at a court in St Louis that she used Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 35 years before she was diagnosed.
Jurors found Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy.
The company has since lost a further three cases in the same Missouri state court, but thousands of claims are understood to be pending across the US.
