Atlanta, GA— Jury selection begins Tuesday in Georgia’s first trial against Johnson & Johnson over alleged links between its talc-based Baby Powder and ovarian cancer. Brower v. Johnson & Johnson, 16EV005534.
Diane Brower, 65, died in 2016 of ovarian cancer. According to court documents, Brower’s family contends her cancer was caused by years of using J&J’s eponymous Baby Powder. The family claims the consumer-products giant knew the dangers of talc but hid those dangers from the public.
J&J counters that there is no link between Brower’s use of its Baby Powder and her cancer, which it contends was diagnosed 30 years after she last used the product. J&J maintains studies show no connection between talc and ovarian cancer.
The case is among thousands of claims pending nationwide, contending cosmetic talc use causes various forms of cancer. In California, for example, retrial opened Monday against J&J in a claim that the inhalation of asbestos in talc led to a woman’s mesothelioma. Trial in that case is being streamed live by CVN.
The legal teams squaring off in the Atlanta case include a host of talc trial veterans from around the country. The Brower family is represented by The Smith Law Firm’s Allen Smith and Beasley Allen’s Ted Meadows, Sharon Zinn, and Robert Register, according to court documents.
J&J is represented by Blank Rome’s James Smith, Sidley Austin’s Debra Pole and Eric Schwartz, Shook Hardy’s Mark Hegarty and Thompson Hine’s Ileana Martinez and Leslie Suson, according to the case’s pre-trial order.
Trial in the case, before Fulton County State Court Judge Jane Morrison, is expected to last about two weeks.
CVN will record the trial and publish gavel-to-gavel video as soon as possible after its conclusion.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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