*UPDATE: As of September 2018, juries had awarded more than $5 billion to people who blamed talcum powder use for causing cancer. People who developed ovarian cancer or mesothelioma cancer after talcum powder exposure continue to file lawsuits. Drugwatch’s legal partners are accepting new cases.
People are filing lawsuits against talc manufacturers over claims that talc exposure led to mesothelioma or ovarian cancer.
Juries have found companies knew or should have known about talc’s risks. But companies did little or nothing to warn consumers about the dangers of their products.
Companies named in lawsuits include Johnson & Johnson, Vanderbilt Minerals and Colgate-Palmolive.
So far, juries have returned billions of dollars in verdicts for plaintiffs.
Status of Talcum Powder Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Drugwatch’s legal partners are accepting talcum powder mesothelioma cases because of industrial and cosmetic talcum powder use.
As of April 2018, juries have awarded more than $153 million in talcum powder mesothelioma claims.
Fact The majority of talcum powder mesothelioma claims come from exposure to industrial talc used in products such as ceramics, plumbing and paint.
Two talc mesothelioma lawsuits went to trial in February 2018.
Stephen Lanzo III was the most recent plaintiff to go to trial. In April 2018, a New Jersey jury awarded Lanzo and his wife $117 million.
The lawsuit claimed Lanzo developed mesothelioma after using Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products. He used baby powder and Shower to Shower.
In March 2018, Vanderbilt Minerals reached a confidential settlement with Robert Lord in a Florida court. Lord worked with Vanderbilt’s industrial talcum powder at a tile company in the 1970s and developed mesothelioma.
Status of Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits
Drugwatch’s legal partners are currently accepting talcum powder ovarian cancer cases from talcum powder use.
As of September 2018, there were 9,142 lawsuits pending in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in New Jersey federal court. Johnson & Johnson and talc supplier Imerys Talc are the defendants in the MDL.
By September 2018, juries had awarded more than $5 billion in verdicts against talc manufacturers.
Courts in New Jersey, Missouri and California also consolidated several talc ovarian cancer lawsuits.
Where talc ovarian cancer lawsuits are taking place as of April 2018:
| State |
Court System Hearing Cases |
Description of Lawsuits |
| New Jersey |
Federal Court, U.S. District of New Jersey |
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) includes more than 6,900 lawsuits from around the U.S. |
| New Jersey |
State Court, Atlantic County |
499+ state lawsuits have been consolidated into a multicounty (MCL) litigation |
| California |
State Court, Los Angeles Superior Court |
800+ state lawsuits have been combined in a Consolidated Litigation in Los Angeles |
| Missouri |
State Court, St. Louis Circuit Court |
1,700-plus lawsuits from plaintiffs around the U.S. filed in Missouri were centralized in St. Louis courts |
The federal MDL is still in the early stages and none of those cases have made it to trial yet. Most of the verdicts have come in Missouri and California.
Filing a Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
There are two types of talcum powder cancer claims: personal injury claims and wrongful death claims.
Lawyers file personal injury lawsuits claims on behalf of people who were diagnosed with mesothelioma or ovarian cancer after exposure to talc.
Because mesothelioma and ovarian cancers are often fatal, sometimes a person may die before they can file a claim. If this happens, lawyers can file wrongful death lawsuits for surviving family members.
Each of these types of lawsuits has its own time limit to file. This is called a statute of limitations.
What is the Time Limit to File a Lawsuit?
The statute of limitations is the time limit people have to file a lawsuit. If people wait too long to file a lawsuit, they may be forever barred from doing so. The exact time limit varies depending on individual state laws.
For talcum powder mesothelioma and ovarian cancer claims, the clock starts ticking after the cancer diagnosis. Most states have a two- or three-year statute of limitations.
Families can still file lawsuits if a loved one died of talcum powder cancer. In wrongful death claims, the clock starts ticking from the date of death. Most states have a two- or three-year statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations is only one year in these states:
- California
-
Kentucky
-
Louisiana
-
Tennessee
Manufacturers and Talc Brands Named in Lawsuits
People filed lawsuits against makers of major brands of talcum powder products. They also sued mining companies that supply these manufacturers with raw talc.
Top Manufacturers, Suppliers and Brands of Talc Products Named in Lawsuits
| TALC COMPANIES BEING SUED |
TALC BRANDS NAMED IN LAWSUITS |
| Johnson & Johnson |
Johnson’s Baby Powder Shower to Shower Body Powder |
| Colgate-Palmolive |
Cashmere Bouquet |
| Imerys Talc North America |
Raw talc sold to cosmetic and industrial companies |
| Whittaker, Clark & Daniels |
Raw talc sold to cosmetic companies |
| Vanderbilt Minerals |
Raw talc in industrial products |
Talcum Powder Verdicts and Settlements
Juries have awarded more than $5 billion to women who have sued claiming they developed ovarian cancer after routinely using talcum powder. Juries have also awarded more than $36 million to people who developed mesothelioma after using talcum powder or being exposed to industrial talc.
Most settlements so far have been with individual plaintiffs and have been for undisclosed amounts.
Talc Class Action Lawsuits
There have been at least four class action lawsuits filed over talc-related products and possible cancer risk. Two have been dismissed or absorbed into other cases.
-
April 2014
California Talc Class Action – Mona Estrada claimed Johnson & Johnson failed to warn about the cancer risk of its talc products. A California federal judge moved the case to New Jersey making it part of the MDL underway there. A New Jersey federal judge
dismissed Estrada’s claim in 2017 saying she did not suffer an actual injury.
-
September 2015
Illinois Talc Class Action – Barbara Mihalich filed a class action suit claiming Johnson & Johnson profited unjustly from its talcum products. The case, including others who had signed onto it, was transferred to the New Jersey MDL in October 2016.
-
February 2018
New Jersey Federal Class Action – Investors filed a class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. They accused the company of failing to disclose that its talcum powder products carried risks of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
-
June 2018
Missouri Class Action – Cynthia Gibson, Heidi Amiro, Lois Arnstein and other plaintiffs filed a
class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. The lawsuit claims exposure to talc, asbestos and other carcinogens in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower led to ovarian cancer. Plaintiffs say Johnson & Johnson failed to warn of the cancer risk.
