Health
J&J Ordered to Pay $18.8M in Baby Powder Cancer Case
Clear Facts:
- Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $18.8 million to Emory Hernandez Valadez, who claims he developed cancer from exposure to the company’s talcum baby powder.
- Valadez may not receive any compensation soon due to a bankruptcy court order freezing most related litigation.
- J&J intends to appeal the verdict, asserting that the company wasn’t allowed to present evidence disputing Valadez’s allegations.
A jury verdict on Tuesday landed a heavy blow to Johnson & Johnson (J&J), ruling that the company must pay $18.8 million to a California man, Emory Hernandez Valadez, who argued that his cancer was a result of exposure to the company’s talcum baby powder.
The 24-year-old Valadez claimed that his development of mesothelioma, a lethal and aggressive cancer that affects the tissue surrounding his heart, resulted from extensive exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens since childhood.
The jury’s decision granted Valadez economic damages of $3.8 million and noneconomic damages of $15 million.
However, due to a current bankruptcy court order freezing most litigation suggesting that J&J’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer, Valadez may not receive any compensation in the near future.
Mesothelioma.com notes that the average life expectancy of someone treated for mesothelioma is 18 to 31 months.
Without treatment, life expectancy decreases to around six months.
J&J’s vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, issued a statement indicating the company’s intention to appeal the verdict.
He asserted that the company was prevented from sharing evidence with jurors that would disprove Valadez’s allegations.
Haas stated, “Without the benefit of that evidence, the verdict is irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming Johnson’s baby powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.”
J&J, a New Jersey-based company, has been at the center of numerous lawsuits over the years, with tens of thousands of plaintiffs alleging that its baby powder and other talc products have caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.
Facing an avalanche of claims, J&J subsidiary LTL Management filed for bankruptcy in April in Trenton, in an attempt to resolve these ongoing issues.
The company has proposed a $8.9 billion settlement over 25 years to resolve over 38,000 lawsuits and prevent future claims.
