Johnson & Johnson's Legal Problems Extend Well Beyond Baby Powder

In addition to talc causing cancer, Johnson & Johnson is being sued for failing to warn customers that one of their leading drugs may cause internal bleeding and the other causes young men to grow breasts

Thursday, April 16, 2020 - Johnson & Johnson is under fire from thousands of lawsuits that allege their iconic brand of baby care product, Johnson's Baby Powder, contains asbestos and causes mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer of the lining of the lungs. Various plaintiffs and the defendant have split equally around twenty jury trials accusing the company of failing to properly warn their customers of the possibility of developing cancer from inhaling or otherwise ingesting their talcum powder. The company has been forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in punitive damages yet when Johnson & Johnson's CEO was forced to testify recently, he admitted that he passes memos about talc containing asbestos to company experts on the subject without reading them. Customer health concerns may take a backseat to shareholder profits and product liability lawsuits are merely another cost of doing business to the multi-national conglomerate. That fact becomes more evident when one looks at several other products in addition to baby powder talc that the company is being sued for manufacturing and selling. The Guardian.com recently wrote an article questioning what has happened to Johnson & Johnson's sense of ethical responsibility for the safety of their products nothing less than "an existential crisis," and experts fear for the future of the company and the public asks "what happened to Johnson & Johnson?" Talcum powder cancer lawyers offer a free consultation with no obligation to file a claim and and work on contingency.

Of particular concern is a recent $8 billion punitive damages jury award to a man that alleged that the company's antipsychotic drug Risperdal caused him to "grow breasts." CNN wrote: " (The plaintiff) Nicholas Murray, 26, previously won $680,000 in the case over the antipsychotic drug Risperdal in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Murray says he developed breasts after he began taking Risperdal in 2003 when a psychologist diagnosed him with an autism spectrum disorder, according to Reuters. Murray's lawyers, Tom Kline and Jason Itkin said in a statement the jury told Johnson & Johnson that its actions were deliberate and malicious. The conduct that the jury saw in the courtroom, was clear and convincing that J&J disregarded the safety of the most vulnerable of children. This is an important moment, not only for this litigation but for J&J, which is a company that has lost its way."

The Guardian also highlighted the lack of corporate ethics or sense of responsibility on the part of Johnson & Johnson in manufacturing and marketing the blood-thinning drug Xarelto while failing to warn consumers of the heightened risk of internal bleeding caused by the drug. As a result of their negligence "Johnson & Johnson and co-maker Bayer agreed to pay $775m to settle about 25,000 lawsuits, though neither of the companies admitted liability," the Guardian reported.