In a major setback for nonresident plaintiffs, the Missouri appeals court reversed the decision of the St. Louis city court, which had directed Johnson & Johnson to make payments worth USD 72 million to a victim’s family. According to reports received from reliable sources, the latter had claimed that the victim died due to ovarian cancer caused due to the usage of talcum powder manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. Accordingly, the jury at the St. Louis city court sprang into action, ordering the firm to pay up the victim’s family. Reportedly, the juries in the St. Louis city court have so far, awarded more the USD 300 million in payments to the appellants over talcum powder claims.The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District however, claims that in the light of a recent decision by the Supreme Court, which places restrictions on where injury lawsuits could be filed, the case of the Alabama-based cancer-stricken victim should not have been filed in the St. Louis court at all. On these grounds, it has been reported that J&J has won the first Missouri trial related to talc-cancer.
As per the firm’s officials, nearly 4,800 litigants have filed legal suits against J&J, making claims for the damages caused due to the use of talc-based items. In 2016, the St. Louis’s court verdict ruled in favor of two litigants, awarding them a compensation of nearly USD 55 million & USD 70 million for the damages caused due to talc based items. The firm is also facing litigation charges in California, where in August this year the court had awarded a compensation of nearly USD 417 million to a woman for the damages caused due to the use of talcum based items. Earlier, in May 2017, the St. Louis court had ordered the pharmaceutical giant to pay USD 110 million to the petitioner, who had suffered injuries due to the use of the talcum-based product.
Johnson & Johnson has currently not commented on the matter so far.