California Woman Awarded $70 Million from Johnson & Johnson for Cancer Causing Talc

Global News reported, on October 28, 2016, that a jury in St. Louis, Missouri awarded a California woman over $70 million in a product defect case. The woman alleged that Johnson & Johnson baby powder containing talc caused her to develop ovarian cancer. The month-long trial was brought on behalf of Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California. Ms. Giannecchini was informed by her doctors that she had ovarian cancer in 2012. The thrust of her claim was that J&J should have warned her that extended use of the product could cause her to suffer ovarian cancer, a serious and often deadly disease. J&J said it would appeal the decision.

The verdict follows two other St. Louis lawsuits, which resulted in verdicts of a combined $127 million. One verdict was for $72 million on behalf of an Alabama woman who tragically died due to the disease. A South Dakota survivor of ovarian cancer was awarded $55 million.

About 2,000 women have filed similar talc cancer lawsuits against J&J, and thousands more are being reviewed for potential litigation. According to the National Cancer Institute’s SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) Program, about 12 new cases of ovarian cancer for every 100,000 women develop each year; 7.5 women for each 100,000 die each year due to the disease.

While Johnson & Johnson claims that talc powder used for feminine hygiene is safe, the law firm representing the woman in the most recent verdict cited research linking talcum powder to ovarian cancer. The lawyer who handled the case claimed that women who routinely used J&J power had a 40% higher likelihood of developing ovarian cancer.

The risk of ovarian cancer due to extended talc powder use is heightened in women who:

• Are overweight
• Do not have children
• Use estrogen therapy after menopause
• Are of Hispanic or African American ethnicity

Women with a family history of ovarian cancer or breast cancer also have a higher risk for talc powder related ovarian cancer.

The South Carolina product liability lawyers at McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC, are experienced medical product defect attorneys. We have the experience and resources to bring complicated cases, such as ovarian cancer caused by Johnson and Johnson talc powder. For help now, please call our caring staff at 1-803-327-7800 or complete our contact form. We fight diligently for ovarian cancer patients and the families of those who have the disease.