Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay an Oregon Woman $260 Million After Getting Cancer Using the Powder
By Thea Felicity
Jun 04, 2024 11:00 AM EDT
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Jun 04, 2024 11:00 AM EDT
On Monday, June 6, Reuters reported that Johnson & Johnson is mandated to pay an Oregon woman $260 million after she developed mesothelioma, a cancer that came from the company's talc powder. In detail, the Portland Court includes $60 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, covering both the plaintiff and her husband.
In 2023, an Oregon woman named Kyung Lee received a cancer diagnosis at age 48, which she attributed to a 30-year usage of baby powder and inhaling the asbestos-tainted talc. Lee narrated that her mother first used it on her as a baby and later used it as a deodorant.
However, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, stated the company would appeal and called the verdict "irreconcilable," citing independent scientific evaluations made decades ago that confirmed talc powder is safe. J&J reaffirms that its powders contain no asbestos and, therefore, will not and do not cause cancer of all sorts.
A lawyer for J&J argued that Lee's illness was likely caused by exposure to asbestos from a factory near her childhood home.
The company has yet to provide scientifically sound and unbiased findings that align with its claims that its powders are safe. At the moment, J&J faces lawsuits from over 61,000 plaintiffs, mostly women with ovarian cancer, with a smaller number of mesothelioma cases.
Earlier this year, VCPost reported that J&J continues to seek approval for a proposed $6.48 billion settlement to resolve most talc-related lawsuits through prepackaged bankruptcy. The company needs 75% of the plaintiffs' support to approve the settlement, which would end the litigation and prevent future cases.
Courts have rejected J&J's two previous attempts to settle the talc cases in bankruptcy. A group of plaintiffs opposed to the current settlement filed a class action lawsuit on May 22, calling it a "fraudulent" abuse of the bankruptcy system, as reported by VCPost.
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