ST. LOUIS * A jury here has awarded $72 million in damages on a
woman's claim that her longtime use of baby powder and other Johnson
& Johnson products contributed to the ovarian cancer that killed
her.
The St. Louis Circuit Court jury found that the company failed to
warn the public and conspired to hide the truth, said Jim Onder, one
of the lead attorneys, who practices in Webster Groves.
Johnson & Johnson, a health care giant based in New Brunswick,
N.J., is expected to appeal. It issued a statement Tuesday insisting
the products are safe.
The plaintiffs' lawyers said it was the first jury in the nation
to award damages over claims that are the basis of suits by at least
1,200 women here and elsewhere.
The verdict in favor of Jacqueline Fox was for $10 million in
actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages. About half the
punitive damages would go toward the Missouri Crime Victim
Compensation Fund, Onder said.
Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Ala., died last fall, about 2 years after
being diagnosed. Her son, Marvin Salter of Jacksonville, Fla.,
became plaintiff after her death. Jurors heard from Fox in an audio
deposition.
The suit claimed her use for more than 35 years of talc-
containing products, such as Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to
Shower body powder for feminine hygiene, contributed to her cancer.
The more than three-week trial culminated in nearly five hours of
deliberations Monday that delivered a decision about 10:15 p.m. Jere
Beasley, one of Fox's lawyers, said the vote was 10-2.
One juror, Jerome Kendrick, 50, said he and nine women voted in
favor of Fox, two men against.
The company's internal memos "pretty much sealed my opinion,"
Kendrick said. "They tried to cover up and influence the boards that
regulate cosmetics."
He added, "They could have at least put a warning label on the
box but they didn't. They did nothing."
He said the $62 million total was calculated at $1 million for
each year of Fox's life.
Salter, 46, a mortgage banker, said: "I was speechless when we
heard the initial number." He added, "To think, how groundbreaking
this could be for so many other women."
He said Johnson & Johnson is a household name he always trusted.
"My reaction was disbelief. How can a company have known about this
relationship between talc and ovarian cancer since the 1970s and not
disclosed it?"
He was the only biological child of Fox, a single mother who also
raised foster children.
Onder said that after being diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian
cancer, Fox contacted lawyers based on a TV ad about talc.
"The sad part is, she had to learn about it from lawyer ads,
while Johnson & Johnson tried to hide the truth from her," he said.
Beasley said the jury found against Johnson & Johnson, a holding
company, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc., but did not fault
another defendant, the talc producer, Imerys Talc America Inc. …
