Mesothelioma Advocates Cheered by NJ Supreme Court Decision in Talcum Powder Asbestos Case
Asbestos in talcum powder has been blamed for a growing number of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer diagnoses, and victims are coming forward to seek justice from those responsible. Two New Jersey women who filed an asbestos lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in 2014 had faced disappointment when a trial judge sided with the consumer giant and dismissed their case, but last week the New Jersey Supreme Court revived their hopes for justice by refusing to review an appellate court’s decision to allow the case to move forward.
Asbestos in Talcum Powder Blamed for Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer
The question of whether asbestos contaminated Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products and whether the company was aware of its dangers has been at the heart of numerous mesothelioma and ovarian cancer lawsuits, and was the basis for the claims filed by Brandi Carl and Diana Balderrama and their spouses in late 2014. The women were both diagnosed with ovarian cancer and blamed Johnson & Johnson and their talc supplier, Imerys Talc America.
Their original claim was heard in Atlantic County Superior Court by now-retired Superior Court Judge Nelson C. Johnson, who agreed with the companies’ attorneys’ arguments and dismissed the case based on what he termed the “narrowness and shallowness” of the science on which their expert witnesses were planning to base their testimony.
Appellate Division Ruled that Asbestos Case was Improperly Decided
Mesothelioma victims and ovarian cancer victims alike know that their legal journey is likely to be long and challenging, and that was the case for the plaintiffs in this New Jersey case. They appealed Judge Johnson’s decision to the state Appellate Division, which ruled that the case had been improperly decided. “The trial judge was called upon to assess whether the opinions were the product of reliable data and employed methodologies accepted by the scientific community. Instead, he selected defendants’ scientific methodologies over plaintiffs’, a process well beyond the gatekeeping function, and which resulted in an abuse of discretion.”
As so often happens in mesothelioma lawsuits, the defendants then took their case to the state’s supreme court in hopes that they would overturn the appellate court’s decision, but the NJ State Supreme Court justices rejected the petition, thus setting the case on a path to be heard by a jury in a New Jersey state court.
If you or someone you love has been harmed by asbestos, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Call us today at 1-800-692-8608.
Written by Terri Oppenheimer
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