The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has once again been hit with court ruling after the company was ordered to pay $55m (€47.59m) to a woman who claims the brand’s Baby Powder caused her ovarian cancer.
The world renowned chain was ordered to pay South Dakota woman Gloria Ristesund, 62, $50m in punitive damages and $5m in compensation after they were found guilty in court after a 3 week trial. Mrs Ritesund who isnow in remission following a hysterectomy and related surgeries, claimed her cancer was caused by “a direct and proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder.”
The verdict is the second major blow in six months for the company after they were ordered to pay $72million to the family of another deceased woman in February.
The company have since issued a statement, questioning the latest verdict saying it contradicted 30 years of research into the safety of the company’s talc products. The company plan to appeal the recent verdict and “continue to defend the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder”.