Malignant mesothelioma lawsuits have always centered on a single, basic premise: that companies whose products were contaminated with asbestos prioritized their profits over people’s health, and therefore are responsible for the illness that exposure to that asbestos caused. These lawsuits have generally been filed against manufacturers of commercial and industrial products used in high-heat settings and construction applications, but in recent days there has been a new focus on a popular, highly-trusted consumer product: Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder. An increasing number of victims of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer patients are accusing the product’s manufacturers of exposing them to asbestos, and in a trial being held in a New Jersey courtroom, a jury heard testimony that the company’s executives knew about their product’s asbestos contamination, but chose to keep it secret in order to protect its bottom line.
Marketing Campaign Targeted Hispanic Community
The New Jersey trial where this testimony was heard involves Ricardo Rimondi, a man who immigrated to the United States in 1992 from Peru. Coincidentally, in the year of his arrival Johnson & Johnson launched a marketing campaign meant to increase sales of their talcum powder products to the Hispanic community. Not only did he use it from the age of 32, but he also used it on his five children when they were babies, and now that he has been diagnosed with mesothelioma he is accusing the company of manipulating testing processes and data in order to hide the presence of asbestos from the public and from federal regulators. Though Johnson & Johnson is denying the charges against it and claiming that their products are safe, a recent comprehensive report published by Reuters is calling those claims into question.
Talc and Asbestos Deposits Frequently Contaminate Each Other
The question of whether talcum powder can cause malignant mesothelioma is being puzzled over in courtrooms throughout America, and rests largely on the fact that talc and asbestos — the mineral that causes the rare form of cancer — are found in close proximity to one another. Cross contamination is a frequent occurrence, and is thought to be why testing companies have found traces of asbestos within talc, including in bottles of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder. Though Johnson & Johnson’s claims that this is not the case, they have no good explanations for the internal memorandums presented in court that show that company executives were concerned about these test results.
As juries consider the evidence being presented to them, mesothelioma patients continue to have questions about their rights and the resources available to them. The Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net have the answers you need. Call us today at 1-800-692-8608.
