Asbestos-in-Talc Dangers; J&J Fails To Escape Talc Suits

Asbestos-in-Talc Dangers; J&J Fails To Escape Talc Suits

Introduction

Chancellor Dewayne Thomas of the Chancery Court of Mississippi’s First Judicial District in Hinds County on Tuesday denied Johnson & Johnson's motion to escape a talcum powder lawsuit filed by the state attorney general alleging the company failed to adequately warn residents of the risks of its talc-based products and thus increased their risks of developing ovarian cancer due to exposure to asbestos contained talc. The court denied the overturn request considering it would be a “remiss” if the lawsuit was tossed before allowing the “full development of all potentially relevant facts.”

J&J failed in yet another overturn attempt on December 19, 2018, as Judge Rex Burlison in St. Louis rejected the company’s bid to set aside a $4.7 billion July verdict which was awarded to 22 women who blamed asbestos exposure from the company's Baby Powder and other talc products for their ovarian cancer.

Regulators in India are testing J&J's Baby Powder after a stunning report suggested that the company was aware for years that some of its talc products had the presence of asbestos in them. The talcum giant confirmed that officials from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and some state-based Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) visited its manufacturing plants in India. As per Reuters, J&J has tested asbestos presence since the 1970s, and several tests conducted revealed traces of asbestos in the Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower powder. Reuters suggested Internal memos and documents indicated the test reports made officials at Johnson & Johnson worried, but still, they failed to warn consumers or regulators about asbestos traces in their talc-products.