Talc Cancer Jury Finds Against J&J for Third Time

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - May 10, 2016 - PRLog -- In the ongoing talc cancer lawsuits, a jury has yet again held liable those responsible for producing cancer-causing feminine hygiene products that contain talc.

Jurors in St. Louis on May 2 ruled for the plaintiff, who sued Johnson & Johnson and others after contracting ovarian cancer. They awarded the plaintiff, Gloria Ristesund, $55 million in damages.

The suit, one of more than 1,000 on file, contended that Johnson & Johnson and other defendants knew of the cancer risk but continue to include talc in their products. The jury held Johnson & Johnson responsible but found that Imry's Talc America Inc., the company that supplies talc to Johnson & Johnson, bore no responsibility for Ristesund's cancer.

Ristesund, 62, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer five years ago. In her suit, she contended that long-term use of talc-containing products in her genital area caused her cancer.

Jurors, who took less than a day to decide the case, awarded Ristesund $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, according to the website. The punitive damages resulted from the company's knowledge of the cancer risk and ongoing refusal to label its products with a warning. Counsel for the plaintiff, Allen R. Smith Jr. of the Talc Litigation Group, showed jurors a Johnson & Johnson internal documents from 1986 that notes medical studies linking use of talc in female hygiene products with ovarian cancer, the website said. Quoting Smith:

"They [J&J] can say whatever they want to with their fancy experts when they come up here that testify in litigation all the time. This is what they said behind closed doors, when they're in the house and they don't think anybody's listening. A whole different song and dance."

Attorney Lisa G. Douglas of North Little Rock said that the verdict is another nail in the coffin of talc-containing personal hygiene products.

"This case is one more example of justice for a consumer who is suffering from a product that its producers know is dangerous," she said. "The writing is on the wall: Talc causes cancer, and the entities who have known this but continued to sell talc-containing products to an unsuspecting public will be held responsible."

Research has shown that prolonged use of talc-containing feminine hygiene products can significantly raise the risk of contracting ovarian cancer. Talc particles may move through the reproductive system, ultimately landing in the ovaries. Studies suggest the risk of cancer is 30 percent higher for women who have used talc-containing products on their genitals. Talc particles can make their way through the female reproductive system, landing in the ovaries.

The verdict is the third against the company. Earlier this year, in the same court in St. Louis, jurors awarded $72 million in damages to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer after using talc-containing hygiene products. A verdict in South Dakota also went against Johnson & Johnson, but in that case, jurors did not award damages. The plaintiff turned down a monetary settlement offer from Johnson & Johnson because it contained a confidentiality clause, according to media reports.

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