USA: Jury awards $37 mln to couple in lawsuit alleging Johnson & Johnson products containing talcum powder caused lung cancer
"New Jersey couple awarded $37 million in talcum powder case", 6 April 2018
A jury in...New Jersey, awarded $30 million in compensatory damages...to a man who got cancer after decades of using talcum powder....Stephen Lanzo said he used Johnson & Johnson products like Shower to Shower and Baby Powder for more than 30 years, and he claimed that inhaling the powder caused his mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer that impacts the lining of the lungs. Deposits of talc...are often located near deposits of the minerals that constitute asbestos, and studies have shown the risk of cross-contamination during mining. Johnson & Johnson said its talc products do not contain asbestos...A batch of similar asbestos-related cases is making its way through the courts...Lanzo's case was the first to go to trial in New Jersey, the home state of Johnson & Johnson...[T]he jury awarded $7 million to Kendra, Stephen Lanzo's wife, and $30 million to him, with Johnson & Johnson getting 70% of the liability and Imerys Talc, a supplier of the mineral, liable for 30%. The Lanzos' lawyers accused the company of holding back information from its customers about the health risks of asbestos in its talc products since the 1960s. Johnson & Johnson argued that it did extensive testing to make sure its products were not contaminated...The jury will begin a second part phase of the trial to consider punitive damages on Tuesday.