Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to resolve over 60,000 lawsuits by people who claim that they contracted ovarian cancer from the talc in its baby powder. The bankruptcy reorganization plan would provide $6.5 billion to plaintiffs in those suits.
This doesn’t cover the lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who say they contracted mesothelioma from J&J’s talcum powder. The company recently announced that 95% of those suits have been resolved. Some more complicated cases are still pending.
Most of the award is punitive
Just this month, an Oregon jury awarded $260 million to a woman who said that over three decades of using the company’s famous baby powder caused her to develop mesothelioma. Most of the award ($200 million) is for punitive damages. The rest is for compensatory damages. The 49-year-old woman was diagnosed with the condition last year.
A legal representative for J&J said that the company will appeal the award and is “confident that the verdict will be reversed, like the majority of aberrant adverse verdicts that have no basis in the law or science.”
Company accused of continuing to use talc after link to asbestos discovered
Although the company still claims that the talc that it used in its products doesn’t contain asbestos, it still stopped using it several years ago and now uses cornstarch instead. The plaintiff’s legal team said during the case that J&J continued to sell its talcum powder even after learning the link between talcum and asbestos.
A mesothelioma diagnosis can understandably send a person reeling. If they’ve never worked in a job or at a location where they were exposed to asbestos, it can be confusing.
The prognosis for mesothelioma patients is still not good, but new therapies are being discovered all the time. It’s crucial to get the best possible treatment and care. That requires money. That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of what caused the disease and, if warranted, to hold those responsible to account.