Women who are at risk for ovarian or fallopian tube cancer due to prolonged use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc powder products could benefit from court-supervised health monitoring and receive damages if they develop the disease if a newly filed class action lawsuit succeeds. 

The three initial plaintiffs filed the suit Monday in New Jersey federal court against J&J and its subsidiaries to hold them responsible for future liability.

“This action arises from the fact that the Defendants’ products are defective, dangerous to human health, unfit and unsuitable to be advertised, marketed, and sold in the United States, and lacked proper warnings associated with their use,” the class action complaint states. 

Women who apply asbestos-contaminated products such as talcum powder on or near their genitals can develop ovarian cancer. Those who use these products long-term are at the greatest risk. 

Women in the United States who used J&J’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower on their genitals for more than four years between 1960 and the present and have not yet filed a personal injury claim against the company, as well as their spouses, parents, and dependent children, according to the lawsuit. Women can be plaintiffs whether or not they have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages in addition to the creation of the monitoring system. 

The initial plaintiffs in the class action suit are:

• Joni S. Bynum, a resident of Auburn, Washington, who used J&J talc powder products between March 2006 and August 2019 is therefore at risk for developing ovarian or related cancers and requires medical monitoring, according to the complaint.
• Robin Coburn of Theodore, Alabama, used J&J talc powder products between March 2012 and August 2023 and was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer in August 2023. 
• James Coburn, Robin Coburn’s spouse.  

Class Action a Response to J&J’s Reduced Settlement Proposal

The lawsuit was prompted by J&J’s recent proposal to settle more than 50,000 previously filed ovarian cancer claims for $6.48 billion over 25 years. If 75% of the claimants vote in favor of the settlement by July 26, the money will be paid through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization of one of the company’s subsidiaries, LTL Management. 

The proposal has received pushback from lawyers representing the ovarian cancer victims, who say the $43,000 average payout per case, minus attorney fees, is nowhere near enough. 

“The inadequate funding of this bankruptcy ploy doesn’t realistically address the needs of women who could develop ovarian cancer in the future because of past baby powder use,” stated Chris Tisi of Levin Papantonio Rafferty, one of the law firms for the class action plaintiffs, in a press release. “A key objective of this complaint is to protect those women.”