A U.S. Jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $55 million to a South Dakota woman who claimed that using the talc powder products of the company for feminine hygiene led to the development of her ovarian cancer.
The verdict was J&J's second loss for such trial this year. In February, the company was ordered to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower for decades.
On May 2, after a three-week trial, state court jurors in St. Louis decided to award Gloria Ristesund $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
The 62-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after using Johnson & Johnson's talc-based feminine hygiene products for nearly four decades. Ristesund's cancer is in remission after she underwent a hysterectomy.
The company currently faces about 1,200 other lawsuits that accuse it of ignoring studies that link its Shower-to-Shower product and Johnson's Baby Powder to ovarian cancer.
Women claim that the company is aware of the cancer risks of its talc-based products but have failed to give adequate warning to consumers.
J&J spokesperson Carol Goodrich said the company plans to appeal the verdict and will continue to defend the safety of its products. Goodrich cited that the decision is in contrast with 30 years of research that support the safety of cosmetic talc.
"Unfortunately, the jury's decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc," Goodrich said. "Johnson & Johnson has always taken questions about the safety of our products extremely seriously.''
J&J attorney Christy Jones also told jurors that Ristesund had a number of risk factors for ovarian cancer such as having a family history of cancer, having no children and having endometriosis.
Some health experts, however, are skeptical about the safety of talcum powder. In a 2015 study, researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston surveyed more than 2,000 women with ovarian cancer regarding their talcum powder use.
They found that applying the product to sanitary napkins, underwear and genitals ups risk for ovarian cancer by a third albeit the risks also depend on other factors such as weight, menopausal hormone use and smoking habits.
Photo: Austin Kirk | Flickr
