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Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect a $4.14 billion punitive verdict in the case.
This is a developing story, and updates will be added as events warrant.
St. Louis—Jurors Thursday slammed Johnson & Johnson with a $4.69 billion verdict, including more than $4.1 billion in punitives, for the role they concluded the company played in the ovarian cancer 22 women developed after years of using its talc-based products. Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson, 1522-CC10417.
Topics: Products Liability, Asbestos, Missouri, Talc, Ingham v. Johnson & Johnson
Bart Williams delivers his closing argument for Johnson & Johnson.
St. Louis—Jurors cleared Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Friday afternoon of responsibility for the ovarian cancer a woman claims was caused by years of using the consumer giant’s baby powder products. Swann v. Johnson & Johnson, 1422-CC09326-01.
Topics: Products Liability, Missouri, Swann v. Johnson & Johnson, Talc
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Missouri juries have awarded $127 million in state talc-cancer cases this year, with more potentially to come, while New Jersey, a hotbed of talc-cancer litigation itself, recently threw out two similar cases. Why the disparity? According to a legal expert interviewed in a recent Forbes article, it may be fundamental differences in expert witness admissibility.
Topics: product liability, Missouri
Plaintiffs' attorneys firing the first courtroom salvos in sweeping litigation over popular products face a high hurdle to success: convincing jurors a product they may have used all of their lives can cause potentially catastrophic harm. That's the hurdle The Smith Law Firm's Allen Smith overcame in landing a $55 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson for the ovarian cancer Smith says J&J's signature-brand baby powder caused his client, Gloria Ristesund.
Topics: Negligence, Products Liability, Ristesund v. Johnson & Johnson, Missouri, Talc
