Mesothelioma Victim Seeks New Trial After FDA Discovers Asbestos in J&J Baby Powder

There are over 15,000 trials pending against Johnson & Johnson, accusing the company of exposing victims of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer to asbestos in their iconic baby powder product. Several of these cases have already been resolved, with some ending in multi-million dollar jury verdicts for victims and others being won by the company. Where Johnson & Johnson won, juries were convinced that the product contained no asbestos. Now a man who lost his case based on that premise is seeking a retrial in light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement that it found the hazardous mineral in a bottle of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder.

Jury Decision Came Days Before FDA Announcement

On October 18^th of 2019, the FDA and Johnson & Johnson announced the discovery of asbestos in their baby powder, just six days after the jury in George Crudge’s pleural mesothelioma lawsuit  decided against him based on their belief in the company’s assertion that asbestos had never been found in their product.

The California man believes that the FDA’s announcement and Johnson & Johnson’s voluntary recall of 33,000 bottles of their baby powder warrants a new mesothelioma trial. His 11-page brief stresses the fact that the company’s defense in his trial was almost entirely based on their assertion that only plaintiffs’ experts had ever identified asbestos in the company’s talc.

FDA Discovery of Asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder Changes Everything

The FDA’s discovery of asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder sent shockwaves through the company and its defense team, while patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer and malignant mesothelioma felt vindicated. These victims hope that the new information will provide juries with the proof that they need regarding the cause of their asbestos-related diseases, while Johnson & Johnson has scrambled to find laboratories to negate the FDA’s findings.

A family representative for Mr. Crudge says that Johnson & Johnson’s argument against all of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims has been the same in every trial — that asbestos has never been found in their product.  “They say that in every case. So it’s a huge deal for them to no longer be able to deny that the FDA has found asbestos in Johnson’s Baby powder.”

Mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims who believe that their illness was caused by exposure to asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder will be following the Crudge case closely. For information on this and other ways that asbestos can cause harm, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at  1-800-692-8608.

Written by Terri Oppenheimer

Terri Heimann Oppenheimer is the head writer of our Mesothelioma.net news blog. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in English. Terri believes that knowledge is power and she is committed to sharing news about the impact of mesothelioma, the latest research and medical breakthroughs, and victims’ stories.

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