A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder is seen in a photo illustration taken in New York, February 24, 2016. REUTERS
NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A Los Angeles jury on Friday sided with Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by the families of three women who alleged that the company’s talc products caused ovarian cancer, finding that J&J was not negligent when selling cosmetic talc products.
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The lawsuit was filed by the families of Mary Owens, Bonnie Tienken and Geneva Williams, who each died of ovarian cancer after using talc-based baby powder.
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More than 67,000 plaintiffs have sued J&J, alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer.
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J&J has won some cases outright, including an Oklahoma trial last week, but juries have awarded large verdicts for plaintiffs in other cases.
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J&J stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, switching to a cornstarch product.
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The case was based on “junk science,” said Erik Haas, J&J’s vice president of litigation.
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The verdict is “disappointing,” said lawyer Ari Friedman, who represented one of the plaintiffs.
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J&J has settled a majority of cases alleging that its products caused mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer associated with asbestos.
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Nearly all of the remaining cases allege that talc products cause ovarian cancer.
Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Sergio Non.
