Talc powder-cancer link: $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson reversed

The August trial was underpinned by errors and insufficient evidence on both sides, culminating in excessive damages, the judge said.

(Representational image)

New Delhi: American multinational pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, lately.

The company that also sells consumer packaged goods, has earned a bad name due to its baby talcum powder, ever since women slammed the product saying it caused ovarian cancer.

In August this year, the company was slammed with a $417 million lawsuit by a Los Angeles jury filed by Eva Echeverria, a hospitalised California resident who claimed that the talc in the company’s iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.

$417 million is the largest sum awarded in a series of talcum powder lawsuit verdicts against Johnson & Johnson in courts around the US.

Now, however, a California judge on Friday threw out the verdict against Johnson & Johnson. The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson marked the latest setback facing women and family members who accuse J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products.

Nelson on Friday reversed the jury verdict and granted J&J's request for a new trial. Nelson said the August trial was underpinned by errors and insufficient evidence on both sides, culminating in excessive damages.

Mark Robinson, who represented the woman in her lawsuit, in a statement said he would file an appeal immediately.

"We will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product," he said.

J&J in a statement said it was pleased with the verdict, adding that it will continue to defend itself in additional trials.

The judge added that there also had been misconduct of the jury during the trial.

J&J said declarations by two jurors after the trial showed that three members of the 12-person jury who voted against finding the company liable were improperly excluded from determining damages.

J&J says it faces lawsuits by 4,800 plaintiffs nationally asserting talc-related claims. Many of those cases are in California, where Echeverria's case was the first to go to trial, and in Missouri, where J&J has faced five trials.

The Missouri litigation led to four verdicts against J&J in which juries issued verdicts totalling $307 million. The company has only won one trial.

But the Missouri cases, which have largely been brought by out-of-state plaintiffs, have faced jurisdictional questions after the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June that limited where personal injury lawsuits could be filed.

On Tuesday, a Missouri appellate court threw out a $72 million verdict by a jury in February 2016 to the family of a deceased Alabama woman after ruling the case should not have been tried in St. Louis.

(With inputs from Reuters)