NJ jury finds J&J not liable in talcum powder cancer trial

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A jury in New Jersey cleared Johnson & Johnson of liability in a lawsuit brought by a man who said that asbestos in the company’s talcum powder products caused his mesothelioma.

Reuters reported that the jury delivered its unanimous verdict in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick, just miles from the company’s headquarters.
According to Reuters, J&J, which currently faces around 13,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide, denies that its talc causes cancer. The company claims that numerous studies and tests by regulators worldwide have shown its talc to be safe and asbestos-free.

Johnson & Johnson, according to the Reuters report, also settled three other mesothelioma talc cases pending in state courts in California, Oklahoma and New York.
J&J said it stood by the safety of its talc and would continue to vigorously defend the safety of baby powder.

“We do not have any organized program to settle Johnson’s Baby Powder cases, nor are we planning a settlement program,” the company said in a statement.
The health care company has faced 12 trials by plaintiffs claiming asbestos in talc caused their mesothelioma.

J&J has now been cleared of liability in four trials, with another five resulting in hung juries and mistrials. Three juries have found J&J liable, awarding a total of $172 million in damages. J&J is appealing those verdicts.

The majority of the 13,000 talc lawsuits against the company involve ovarian cancer claims. Juries in those cases have hit the company with verdicts as high as $4.69 billion according to Reuters.

Some of the ovarian cancer verdicts have been overturned on appeal on technical legal grounds, while the company’s other appeals are still pending.
“It remains true that of all the talc-related verdicts against Johnson & Johnson that have been through the appeals process, every one has been overturned,” the company said in its statement.