Following a series of guilty verdicts and hefty damages owed, the company that supplies talc to Johnson & Johnson for their baby powder has agreed to settle with the California woman blaming the two companies for her mesothelioma diagnosis. Carolyn Weirick’s lawsuit against Imerys and Johnson & Johnson asserts that the iconic consumer product’s talc was contaminated with asbestos, and that after years of using the product on a daily basis, led to her being diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer. The trial has consumed the last four weeks and was just about to go to trial when the talc supplier announced that it had reached an agreement with the woman.
Though neither Ms. Weirick nor Imerys revealed the terms of the settlement, last April the company was found responsible for 30 percent of a $117 million verdict in a similar New Jersey case, and in this case the victim is seeking $25 million in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages. Imerys previously agreed to a settlement last July, just before a St. Louis jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer that they blamed on asbestos in the product. Insiders have indicated that Imerys’ settlement in that case was at least $5 million.
Asbestos is the single known cause of malignant mesothelioma, and deposits of the carcinogenic mineral are frequently found in close proximity to deposits of talc. This is how talc is so frequently contaminated by the toxic material, and evidence presented in this and previous cases have cited internal memos and reports indicating that Johnson & Johnson’s was aware of the presence of asbestos in their talc-based product, and chose to conceal the information instead of speaking up to protect consumers or warn them. There are currently more than 10,000 additional lawsuits pending that will charge the company with causing either ovarian cancer through use of the product genitally or malignant mesothelioma from using the product as a body powder.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease after using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder, we can help. Contact our Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net at 1-800-692-8608.
