J&J must pay $72 mln for cancer death linked to talcum powder -lawyers

By Jonathan Stempel
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (N:JNJ) JNJ.N was ordered by
a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the
family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to
her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to
Shower for several decades.
In a verdict announced late Monday night, jurors in the
circuit court of St. Louis awarded the family of Jacqueline Fox
$10 million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive
damages, according to the family's lawyers and court records.
The verdict is the first by a U.S. jury to award damages
over the claims, the lawyers said.
Johnson & Johnson faces several hundred lawsuits claiming
that it, in an effort to boost sales, failed for decades to warn
consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer.
Fox, who lived in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed she used Baby
Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene for more than
35 years before being diagnosed three years ago with ovarian
cancer. She died in October at age 62.
Jurors found Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence
and conspiracy, the family's lawyers said. Deliberations lasted
four hours, following a three-week trial.
Jere Beasley, a lawyer for Fox's family, said Johnson &
Johnson "knew as far back as the 1980s of the risk," and yet
resorted to "lying to the public, lying to the regulatory
agencies." He spoke on a conference call with journalists.
Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, said: "We
have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of
consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the
trial. We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly
believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of
scientific evidence."
In October 2013, a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
found that plaintiff Deane Berg's use of Johnson & Johnson's
body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian
cancer. Nevertheless, it awarded no damages, court records show.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (N:VRX) VRX.TO now owns
the Shower to Shower brand but was not a defendant in the Fox
case.
The case is Hogans et al v. Johnson & Johnson et al, Circuit
Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, No. 1422-CC09012.