J&J's Baby Powder Problem a Blow to Its Bottom Line?
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) will pay a woman $55 million after claims that its talcum powder caused her to develop ovarian cancer.
Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano joined the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney to break down the legal implications of this case.
“Talcum powder has been used for 40 or 50 years in this country – all of a sudden there are these 1,200 cases against Johnson & Johnson,” he said.
According to Judge Napolitano, you must produce scientific evidence that the talcum powder caused ovarian cancer.
“You must produce physicians or scientists who can explain to the jury the scientific cause of relationship between the regular consistent systematic use of the talcum powder and the cancer and you must prove that Johnson & Johnson knew about it and you must prove that Johnson & Johnson didn’t warn you of it,” he said.
The verdict was the second straight loss for the company, which also faces 1,200 more lawsuits alleging it did not warn consumers of the talcum powder’s effects.
“It’s about $140 million between the two cases and judgments against Johnson & Johnson with 1,200 more cases out there. So this might be a serious blow to their standing,” he said.
Johnson & Johnson shares were trading slightly lower on Tuesday.