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Landmark Settlement in Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on August 23, 2017

On Monday, August 21, 2017, after a month-long trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, an L.A. jury has awarded a landmark judgement in the lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson in the amount of $417 million, marking the largest settlement to date in a series of talcum powder lawsuits against the company.

Eva Echeverria, 63, a medical transcriptionist from East Los Angeles, first began using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder when she was eleven-years-old as a part of her daily feminine hygiene regiment. She continued her usage into her adult life, including after her terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis. According to her attorney, Mark Robinson, she was completely unaware that some reports had indicated that talc had been tied to cancer, and was therefore unsafe. She stopped using it immediately, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

It was revealed in court that there were studies performed by research scientists in Wales dating as far back as 1971, documenting the connection between talc and cancer, with Johnson & Johnson being in possession of this information for over thirty years. This ended up being a key piece of evidence for the jury and the prosecution, with Mr. Robinson stating that “Johnson & Johnson knew about the risks of talc and ovarian cancer.”

Even though there are over 1000 women involved in Johnson & Johnson talcum powder lawsuits across the country, only a handful of them have actually gone to trial and been settled, including:

$55 million to an unnamed female plaintiff.
$72 million to a woman who passed away before a verdict was reached.
$110 million to a woman in Virginia.

In this specific case, Ms. Echeverria’s judgement includes $68 million in compensatory damages and $340 million in punitive damages. She is currently residing with her daughter and grandson, as she is too ill to take care of herself anymore. “She told me, ‘I’m not doing this for myself,’” her lawyer said. “She knows she’s going to die. She’s doing this for other women. She wants to do something good before she leaves.”

The Law Offices of James O. Cunningham, P.A. has been representing the victims of product liability lawsuits for over thirty-five years. To set up a free initial consultation, contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY.

James O. Cunningham

James O. Cunningham Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.