Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog
The family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer alleges that side effects of daily Baby Powder use for feminine hygiene purposes caused the development of cancer.
The family of Maureen Broderick Milliken allege that Milliken’s “regular and prolong” use of Johnson and Johnson’s Baby Powder around her genital area caused ovarian cancer. According to the lawsuit filed on June 9, 2016, Milliken used the product nearly her entire life.
Milliken’s famiy argues that Johnson and Johnson knew or should have known of the “unreasonably dangerous and carcinogenic nature of the talc,” the main ingredient used in Baby Powder. Yet, the company withheld information from consumers and continued to market use of the products in the underwear and around the genitals, which may cause talc to migrate through the vagina and increase the risk of cancer, according to the lawsuit.
“During the time in question, the Johnson & Johnson Defendants advertised and marketed this product as a beacon of ‘freshness’ and ‘comfort’, eliminating friction on the skin, absorbing ‘excess wetness’ helping keep skin feeling dry and comfortable, and ‘clinically proven gentle and mild’,” the lawsuit states.
This isn’t the first time Johnson and Johnson has faced lawsuits regarding their Baby Powder product and links to ovarian cancer. In fact, Johnson and Johnson has so far lost two multi-million dollar lawsuits this year alone.
During one of the lawsuits, Robert Ness, a former dean of the University of Texas School of Public Health and former president of the American Epidemiological Society, testified that the association between hormone therapy and breast cancer is statistically smaller than the association between talc and ovarian cancer, yet hormone therapy carries a warning of the potential risk.
In the first lawsuit this year, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson and Johnson to pay the family of Jacqueline Fox $72 million in actual and punitive damages. Fox filed a lawsuit against the company after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three years ago.
In May 2016 another jury decided against Johnson and Johnson and awarded $55 million to a women who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using Baby Powder for feminine hygiene for nearly 40 years.
There are several hundred other Baby Powder lawsuits pending against Johnson and Johnson. Our office is currently investigating talcum powder lawsuits from across the country. If you or a loved one suffered from ovarian cancer after using baby powder for feminine hygiene, contact our office immediately.