After its third loss in the baby powder litigation so far this year, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vowed to appeal all three verdicts and continue to fight other baby powder cancer lawsuits. The company now faces four more lawsuits from Washington and Oregon women claiming the company’s products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
Like many other women, Meredith Muller routinely used J&J’s baby powder around her groin for feminine hygiene. After using baby powder for decades, Ms. Muller was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in August 2013. But Ms. Muller is not alone. Two other Washington women, Marcy McBride and Annalisa Tiffany, also used baby powder for most of their adult lives before developing ovarian cancer.
These three women are fighting alongside decedents of Peggy Grundy to hold J&J responsible for not warning them the product could cause cancer. Ms. Grundy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2008 and lost her battle with the deadly disease in February 2015.
The women are encouraged by the October baby powder trial awarding the plaintiff $70 million in damages. The trial marks the fourth time J&J was found guilty of gross negligence, but J&J is not ready to throw in the towel.
The company reiterated its products are safe for use and believe juries in the trials made mistakes in rendering judgments. These four recently-filed lawsuits now join thousands more women fighting to hold the company responsible.
Baby powder lawsuits are backed by more than 20 epidemiological studies linking the talc in baby powder to ovarian cancer. These studies did not go unnoticed by J&J, and internal documents from the company reveal J&J was aware of the link between the talc in baby powder and ovarian cancer and devised marketing strategies to overcome growing consumer distrust to sell more of its products.
If J&J truly wants to shake off baby powder lawsuits, they must taken on thousands of injured women across the country. The next baby powder cancer trial is scheduled to begin in February 2017, and another loss for J&J might make the company reconsider offering a settlement.