J&J Wins California Asbestos Cosmetic Talcum Powder Trial

J&J Wins California Asbestos Cosmetic Talcum Powder Trial

Introduction

On Monday, Jurors in California cleared allegations made by a California woman against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over its talc-based baby powder.

According to the court documents, the 48-year old woman used talcum powder as a child in Hong Kong and also in the U.S after her move in 1984. It further noted that the talc supplied for baby powder from the mines of both Korea and Vermont contained asbestos fibers, which was the reason for her terminal disease.

J&J, in its argument, established that asbestos was not present in the talcum powder using detailed agency's and institutional studies and also outlined the company’s testing protocol that included more than 170,000 test samples of talc and determined the mineral was asbestos-free.

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.