Critical Talc Plaintiff Awarded Millions by Jury

By MedTruth Editors

A jury in California has awarded a multimillion-dollar verdict to a talcum powder plaintiff who is expected to pass away very soon. After over a week of deliberation, the jury delivered a verdict against the consumer product corporation Johnson & Johnson, fining it $18.8 million in damages. 

J&J has faced tens of thousands of plaintiffs who allege that their talcum powder products were contaminated with asbestos, leading to mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other adverse health events. J&J has fought these claims for years, but juries have sided with plaintiffs many times when the claims went to trial. That was the case for a 24-year-old man named Emory Hernandez Valadez. 

Valadez’s case was the first to go to trial since J&J created the subsidiary LTL Management, which was intended to settle talc claims by force through the use of the bankruptcy system. After the first bankruptcy was struck down by an appeals court, LTL filed for bankruptcy again but attorneys representing Valadez requested that his case be allowed to go to trial despite the protections, citing Valadez’s grim prognosis. 

The case took several weeks, but on July 18, the jury returned with a verdict in favor of Valadez. Not only was J&J found to be liable for Valadez’s injuries, the jury assigned 100% of the blame for Valadez’s condition to the corporation. 

J&J litigation vice president Erik Haas released a statement in response to the verdict, according to Law360. In the statement, he expressed the corporation’s intent to appeal Valadez’s verdict and stated that while the company appreciated the jurors’ “efforts” there were multiple “erroneous rulings” by the trial judge that required review by an appeals court. Haas added that "Those rulings prevented us from sharing with the jury critical facts that demonstrate the plaintiff's exceedingly rare form of mesothelioma was not caused by baby powder."

J&J has repeatedly claimed that their talc-based products are safe. The company removed its talc-based baby powder products from sale in North America in 2020.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer or mesothelioma as a result of using talcum products, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact MedTruth today for a free case review to begin your journey to justice.