Talcum Powder Trials Involving Three Plaintiffs Today in St. Louis

Mesh Medical Device News Desk, June 5, 2017 ~ The first trial involving multiple plaintiffs over J&J's talcum powder and its link to ovarian cancer begins today in a St. Louis courtroom.

J&J is back in a St. Louis courtroom today, reports DrugWatch, facing three plaintiffs defending itself against charges that long-term use of its talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.

This is the first multi-plaintiff trial in St. Louis over the risks of using talcum powder and will be covered by Courtroom View Network.

The three plaintiffs are Michael Blaes (on behalf of his wife), Savanna Crews and Darlene Evans, all of whom died from ovarian cancer. Plaintiffs contend that long term use of Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder, both baby powder and/ or Shower to Shower caused their ovarian cancer.

A pre-trial conference will be held Monday, June 5, and depending on the outcome, jury selection will begin Tuesday.

This same courthouse has been the venue for five other product liability talcum powder trials:

• May 2017- Jury award of $110 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Lois Slemp, 62 of Virginia used baby powder and Shower to Shower for more than 40 years. Her ovarian cancer, diagnosed in 2012, has spread. See MND coverage here.
• March 2017 – Jury ruled in favor of J&J. Plaintiff Nora Daniels, 55, was awarded nothing. MND coverage here.
• October 2016 – Johnson & Johnson paid nearly $70 million to Deborah Giannecchini, 63, co-defendant ordered to pay $2.5 million. She was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. One jurors told Bloomberg News about J&J, “It seems like they didn’t care.” An appeal is planned. See MND coverage here.
• May 2016 – J&J ordered to pay $55 million in compensatory and punitive damages to Gloria Ristesund. She used J&J powder for feminine hygiene for about 40 years. J&J should have put a warning on this product, said one juror.
• February 2016 - Jackie Fox, 62, was awarded $72 million. She died of ovarian cancer in 2015. MND story here.

J&J insists the research on the link between ovarian cancer and talcum powder is inconclusive. There are more than 1,000 similar lawsuits filed around the country.

Beasley Allen law firm had headed the litigation on behalf of plaintiffs.

Courtroom View Network will cover the trial.

The pending Missouri trial is captioned Swann, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., No. 1422-CC09326-01, in Missouri’s 22nd Circuit Court in St. Louis.