J&J Sued By New Mexico Over Talcum Powder

J&J Sued By New Mexico Over Talcum Powder

Introduction

The state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson(J&J) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, alleging that their talc-based products were laced with asbestos while explicitly marketing to African-American and Hispanic New Mexican women and children.

The complaint was filed on January 2 in state court in Santa Fe by Attorney General Hector Balderas. Although J&J is facing thousands of lawsuits over its talc products, New Mexico is the first state seeking punitive damages through legal action.

The state alleges that J&J targeted the African-American and Hispanic women and children for robust marketing as people of these two ethnicities have a higher rate of people using its baby powder.

The brief also states that a study in 1995 found a 27 percent increase in ovarian cancer for women who used talc on a regular basis in abdominal or vaginal areas.

Nearly 14,000 Talcum Powder and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits are consolidated under multidistrict litigation MDL No. 2738; In Re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation. Lawsuits are also pending in a coordinated California proceeding under Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding No. 4877.