This week a St. Louis jury awarded $72 million in damages to the family of a woman who allegedly died as a result of using Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based powder for feminine hygiene. Apparently, the jury found that the talc-based powders manufactured by Johnson & Johnson caused the woman to develop ovarian cancer. Notably, the woman used a few different types of Johnson & Johnson’s product for “several decades.”
In October of 2013, a South Dakota jury also reportedly found Johnson & Johnson liable for another woman’s development of ovarian cancer as a result of her use of other Johnson & Johnson “body powder products” but interestingly awarded her no damages.
While these types of cases have not been reported widely in the media, one has to wonder whether the recent $72 million St. Louis verdict will cause Plaintiff’s attorneys to start taking a harder look at these cases.