J&J comes out on top: California jury rules against claim woman developed cancer from baby powder
A jury ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson, rejecting a California woman’s claims the company withheld information about their talc products that she believes caused her to develop cancer, according to a report.
The California court jury on Wednesday denounced – by a 10 to 2 vote – Carolyn Weirick’s claims that the drug maker knew about the existence of asbestos in its talc products, such as baby powder, the Courtroom View Network reported.
Weirick was diagnosed with mesothelioma shortly after she started experiencing shortness of breath in 2016, according to the Northern California Record. She had reportedly used the Johnson & Johnson baby power “for decades."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 154.81 | -0.27 | -0.17% |
It wasn't Weinrick's first bout in court against the pharmaceutical company. Lawyers had previously sought $28 million in a case that resulted in a hung jury in 2018, CVN reported. The new trial – one of hundreds of cases against J&J nationwide – began in September and her lawyers were asking for $1.3 million
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J&J successfully argued that terminal cancer came about spontaneously, and was not directly caused by the talc powder.
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“This is the seventh jury that has found in favor of Johnson & Johnson, and importantly, all of the verdicts against the Company that have been through the appeals process have been overturned,” Johnson & Johnson spokesperson Jennifer Taylor told CVN in a statement. “Today’s decision, and this trial track record, are consistent with the decades of clinical evidence and scientific studies by medical experts around the world that support the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.”
Weinrick’s attorneys did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ requests for comment.
On Tuesday, a Philadelphia jury ruled the pharma giant must pay $8 billion toward a Maryland man who grew breasts after using Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug, for years.