…” Leigh O’Dell, an Alabama lawyer who is leading the plaintiffs’ cases that have been consolidated before a federal judge in New Jersey for pretrial information exchanges, said Friday.
Mark Lanier, who persuaded a St. Louis jury last year to find J&J at fault and award a $4.7-billion verdict on behalf of more than 20 women who said they developed ovarian cancer through long-term use of the company’s talc-based products, said he doesn’t expect this to be the last time that its talc will be found to contain asbestos.
“This confirms thousands of tests” over the years that have uncovered asbestos in J&J’s baby powder, he said.
But J&J has, in many cases, appealed verdicts against it, citing conflicting evidence on whether talcum powder can cause cancer. In a statement provided to Time after the new study’s publication, the company maintained that baby powder is safe.