Over the last several years, tens of thousands of victims of ovarian cancer and malignant mesothelioma have pointed at talc in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder as the cause of their illness. The lawsuits filed against the consumer giant accuse the company of knowing that the talc in their product was linked to cancer and that in continuing to sell the product, they negligently put profits over people. Facing these accusations in a claim filed by a Miami attorney over the death of his wife, the chief medical officer of the company said that he would have pulled the product from the shelves had he identified a link between it and illness.
Trial in Miami Echoes Negligence Accusations from Thousands of Mesothelioma Victims
The ongoing trial filed by Bob Sugarman over the death of his wife Marilyn Seskin echoes the same accusations lodged by over 40,000 ovarian cancer and mesothelioma victims: that the company knew that talc in its popular baby powder product caused cancer, but that they hid and suppressed that information to continue earning profits. Evidence submitted in the trial said that the woman had used the powder for 50 years as a deodorant and antiperspirant and put it in her underwear and on her diaphragm.
Despite billions of dollars in damages already awarded to mesothelioma victims, Johnson & Johnson has maintained that its product was safe. Testifying to a Miami jury, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edwin Kuffner said that the company took cancer concerns seriously, that his job was to protect patient safety, and that he would have ordered sales discontinued had he found a link between the two.
Jurors Question Chief Medical Officer About Talc Safety
Under direct questioning by jurors hearing the ovarian cancer case, Dr. Kuffner explained that the company’s decision to end its talcum powder sales in North America was made for business reasons rather than safety reasons, and he said that the reason that a cancer warning had not been placed on the product’s label was that if there had been a cancer link, the product would not have been sold.
In the face of the physician’s denials, the plaintiff’s attorney submitted evidence that scientists had found talc in tissue samples of ovarian tumors as long ago as 1971, but that Johnson & Johnson had denied the link, fought regulators, and questioned the scientists’ results. The case is continuing in a Florida courtroom.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or ovarian cancer and you think it may be tied to the use of talc-based powder, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
