Woman with Ovarian Cancer Wins $417M from Johnson & Johnson

In a lawsuit against the healthcare giants Johnson & Johnson, a 62-year-old woman from California has been awarded a compensation of $417 million. Eva Echeverria alleged that her illness (ovarian cancer) is linked to the talc in  J&J's baby powder. A Los Angeles jury passed the verdict earlier this week.

Eva started using J&J's talc powder products since she was 11. Though she had been using it for decades she only developed ovarian cancer in 2017.

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The court alleged that J&J, the world's largest healthcare company, ignored studies linking its baby powder and 'Shower to Shower' talc to ovarian cancer and failed to warn customers about the risk.

"There's a problem all-over the country with women using talcum powder regularly for 10, 20, 30, 40 years." - Marc Robinson

“We are grateful for the jury’s verdict on this matter and that Eva Echeverria was able to have her day in court.” said Mark Robinson, her lawyer, as reported by The Guardian.

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Marc argued that J&J encouraged women to use its products despite knowing of studies linking ovarian cancer to genital talc use. "J&J needs to see they not only have verdicts against them in St Louis, they now also have them in Los Angeles," Robinson said. "There's a problem all-over the country with women using talcum powder regularly for 10, 20, 30, 40 years."

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The company spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said that they will further appeal in this case. "We are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder,'' she said. She added that they are preparing for additional trials in the US. They will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder.

As per reports J&J currently faces 4,800 claims in the US and has already paid over $300 million in verdicts by juries in Missouri.

Pic credit: beyondclassicallybeautiful.com

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