June 20, 2016 — The family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after using Johnson’s Baby Powder for decades has filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania.
The victim, 58 year-old Maureen Broderick Milliken, used talcum powder for feminine hygiene for most of her life. She died of ovarian cancer in June 2014.
A representative of her estate filed the lawsuit (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 9 — Case No. 2:16-cv-02866-MAK.
The defendants include Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier, Imerys Talc America. Imerys began warning about carcinogenic side effects of talc in 2006, but Johnson & Johnson continues to deny any risk whatsoever.
Approximately 1,500 lawsuits have been filed by women who say Johnson & Johnson knew or should have known about the risk of cancer, but chose to market baby powder to adult women anyway.
Evidence linking talcum powder and ovarian cancer has been growing since the 1970s, when particles of talc were found in tissue samples from women with cancer. In 1982, a study by Dr. Daniel Cramer found an 82% increased risk.
At least 22 studies have found higher rates of ovarian cancer among women who routinely use talcum powder in the genital area.
The size of the litigation has skyrocketed in recent months after two trials in St. Louis, Missouri ended in eye-popping jury verdicts — one for $55 million and another for $72 million in February.
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