Fourth Time is a Charm as Johnson & Johnson Wins its First Talcum Powder Case

The fourth talcum powder to go to trial strayed from the streak of large verdicts that juries had been awarding to plaintiffs thus far.  This past Friday, March 3rd, a Missouri jury returned a verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson.  The plaintiff in that case, Nora Daniels, was not successful in convincing the jury that her daily use of J & J’s talcum powder for 38 years was the cause of her injuries.

This is the first of the four trials, all taking place in Missouri, to result in a defense verdict. The first talcum powder trial resulted in a verdict of $72 million to the plaintiffs in February 2016.  The second trial resulted in a verdict of $55 million to the plaintiff in May of 2016.  The third talcum powder case resulted in a verdict of $70 million to the plaintiff in October of 2016.

There are a number of additional trials set in Missouri in the coming months, specifically in April, June and July of this year.  Additionally, the first California trial is set for July of this year.  Time will tell whether this recent verdict will be indicative of the future of these cases or just an outlier.