Long believed to be gentle and safe, talcum powder has been found to be extremely dangerous when applied by women to their genital areas, eventually causing deadly ovarian cancer. Victims may need a talcum powder cancer lawsuit, which this law firm can provide.
Talcum Powder Research
As early as 1971, researchers found a link between women’s long-term use of talcum powder and ovarian cancer — an especially dangerous cancer since its lack of symptoms means it often isn’t detected until it has spread to other parts of the body.
In 1982, a New York Times report cited a possible link between use of talcum powder and suffering ovarian cancer. That report also noted that Johnson & Johnson apparently knew women had a three times greater risk of ovarian cancer if they used the product in their groin area.
Medical studies published elsewhere also have associated women’s use of talcum powder in this way with ovarian cancer. A 2013 study of 2,000 women, published in Cancer Prevention Research, revealed that women who applied talc-based powder to their genital might face up to a 30% higher risk of ovarian cancer.
As such research continued over the year, Johnson & Johnson continued marketing its talcum powder products to women as Shower to Shower. It also sells comparable products known as Baby Powder.
You may be wondering exactly what is talcum powder and how a substance applied to babies could hurt women.
This substance is originally mined from the earth as talc rocks, which contain such minerals as silicon and magnesium. The rocks are crushed and turned into a fine powder, which then is sold as talcum powder products.
Such products are designed to reduce chafing, prevent rashes and absorb moisture. They are used on babies as so-called baby powder, but also by women on their genital region, or sprinkled on sanitary napkins or underwear.
Such usage exposed women to severe side effects of talc when it enters their reproduction system and eventually reaches the ovaries. Cases of ovarian cancer have found talc embedded in the ovaries. This danger also owes to sustained, prolonged use of talc in this manner — a use which Johnson & Johnson does not warn against, but which can lead to ovarian cancer.
Lawsuits Against Talcum Powder Maker
In 2014 two class-action lawsuits were launched against Johnson & Johnson for its negligence in making, marketing and selling such talc-based products to women. Victims also can file an individual lawsuit by notifying the nationally known Willis Law Firm.
One individual already has triumphed in court. Diane Berg of South Dakota won her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson which claimed it had failed to warn her during the 30 years she applied talcum powder to her genital area that this could raise the risk of ovarian cancer — with which she was diagnosed in 2006.
Dr. Daniel Cramer of Boston’s Harvard Medical School testified in that trial, having researched connections between ovarian cancer and women’s sustained use of talcum powder. He estimated Berg could have made as many as 8,000 applications of the powder over the three decades that she used it and said such prolonged usage could increase the risk of ovarian cancer.
In all, three physicians found that the talc particles embedded in Berg’s ovaries via sustained use of talcum powder for numerous years led to her suffering ovarian cancer. (Her talcum powder cancer lawsuit also targeted Luzenac America, a talc mining company.)
For your own lawsuit over talcum powder ovarian cancer, contact the Willis Law Firm for your free and confidential legal consultation. We can advise you on your own prospects for a successful talcum powder lawsuit claiming payments for your injury losses, including lost present and future wages, medical and hospital expenses, suffering and pain.
Notify us today, and let’s get started seeking the payments — and justice — you deserve.