It seems this is the year of large payouts from suits and court cases. First you heard how Amazon is planning to refund clients $70 million and now Pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson will have to shug out a whopping $110 million and ALL TO JUST ONE WOMAN. Can you beat that? And yes you read correctly!! The woman has been awarded $110 million.
Yes!! Johnson and Johnson have just lost a suit where a Jury in St Louis, Missouri has ordered the company to pay Lois Slemp 62 of Wise, Virginia the exact sum of $110, 355, 100 and you know why??? She convinced the Jury that her ovarian cancer was caused by forty years of use Johnsons BABY POWDER, the supposedly safest thing on earth. The products in question which Lois Slemp used were J&J baby powder and shower to shower powder.
In 2012 Slemp was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer which has now spread to her liver. Her taped testimony was heard by Jurors in which she stated “I trusted Johnson & Johnson – big mistake.”
Incidentally Johnson and Johnson isn’t just the most loved brand in America, It is popular almost all over the world. The pharmaceutical company known for their baby goods has defended their talcum powder against the claims made by Lois Slemp which have even been backed by scientific evidence.
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This may sound unbelievable to you but the International Agency for Research on Cancer actually classifies Talc as a potential carcinogenic in genital use. However in defense of the company, there have been several health groups who claim that the talc is harmless.
Slemp’s lawyers on the other hand have argued how scientific evidence dating back to the seventies links the use of talcum powder to ovarian cancer. Their biggest line of argument was how the company did not warn its consumers about the risks of cancer when using their products. The woman awarded $110 million means Ms Slemp’s award is now a record of sorts and the highest in history.
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Slemp who is now undergoing chemo will be awarded the amount which will be the highest of 2400 lawsuits against Johnson and Johnson because of its talc based products. Slemp’s lawyer Ted meadows said “Once again we’ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America.’
Even as the woman has been awarded $110 million, Johnson and Johnson officials have said they will be planning an appeal in defense of the safety of Johnsons baby powder “‘we deeply sympathize with the women and families impacted by ovarian cancer.’
Such a statement is respected no doubt but if such is the case, shouldn’t the company put the warring on their products to prevent the risk of contracting cancer rather than apologizing afterwards when it’s too late??
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