Johnson & Johnson Is Ordered To Pay Big To Ovarian Cancer Sufferer

We’ve seen the commercials, were lawyers say they have our back if we used Johnson & Johnson talc powder and then developed ovarian cancer as a result. Well looks like one woman’s lawsuit has really paid off.

Johnson & Johnson was ordered on Thursday to pay a woman in Virginia $110 million because she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using the company’s talc based products for feminine hygiene.

A Missouri jury came to the verdict in a St. Louis court, and it was the largest win in all of the 2,400 lawsuits that accuses Johnson & Johnson for not warning consumers properly about cancer risks if they use talc-based products.

Louis Slemp is the woman who sued Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Imerys Talc. She was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012 and is now currently undergoing chemotherapy after it came back and spread to her liver.

According to Slemp, she developed cancer after four decades of using talc-containing products produced by J&J. This includes the company’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder.

$5.4 million was awarded by the jury in compensatory damages and determined that Johnson & Johnson was 99 percent at fault. The other 1% went to Imerys Talc. The jury awarded Slemp awarded punitive damages of $105 million against J&J and $50,000 against Imerys.

Johnson & Johnson has already faced four trials, and three have resulted in $197 million verdicts against both the company and a talc supplier.

“Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America,” Ted Meadows stated, who is one of Slemp’s lawyers.

Johnson & Johnson already has plans to appeal. “We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and have not been compensated for this article.