By Heather Callaghan
Missouri jurors deliberated for hours following a three-week trial to examine claims that Johnson & Johnson played a role in a cancer victim's death from years of using baby powder made with talc - a carcinogen. This case is important to pay attention to, considering the wide proliferation of talcum powders in body care products, baby care products, cosmetics and sports. Reuters reports:
In a verdict announced late Monday night, jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis awarded the family of Jacqueline Fox $10 million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive damages, according to the family's lawyers and court records. The verdict is the first by a U.S. jury to award damages over the claims, the lawyers said. Johnson & Johnson faces claims that it, in an effort to boost sales, failed for decades to warn consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer. About 1,000 cases have been filed in Missouri state court, and another 200 in New Jersey. Fox, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed she used Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene for more than 35 years before being diagnosed three years ago with ovarian cancer...Sadly, Fox died last Fall at age 62. Jurors agreed that Johnson & Johnson should be accountable for fraud negligence and even conspiracy. Jere Beasley, an attorney for the family of Fox claims that Johnson & Johnson knew of talc risks as early as the 1980s but instead willfully lied to the public and the government. But a spokeswoman retorted:
