Woman Awarded $70M in Johnson&Johnson Baby Powder Lawsuit

Paper Type:  Essay
Pages:  6
Wordcount:  1582 Words
Date:  2021-03-25
Categories: 

TOPIC: HOW WAS AWARDING OF A WOMAN $70M IN JOHNSON & JOHNSON BABY POWDER LAWSUIT JUSTIFIED BY LAW?

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SOURCES:

Jackson, Lucas. Woman awarded $ 70M in Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuit. Thestar.com. The Associated Press, 28 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. < https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/10/28/woman-awarded-70m-in-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-lawsuit.html>.

Yu, Roger. Jury Awards more than $70M to woman in J&J baby powder cancer lawsuit. USA Today. The Associated Press, 28 Oct. 2016. Web 13 Nov. 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/10/28/johnson-jnj-talcum-baby-powder-ovarian-cancer/92878176/.

Salter, Jim. Woman wins $70M lawsuit claiming Johnson& Johnson baby powder caused her cancer. Associated Press, 29 Oct. 2016. Web 13 Nov. 2016. < http://www.wthr.com/article/woman-wins-70m-lawsuit-claiming-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-caused-her-cancer>.

Cramer, Daniel W., et al. "The Association Between Talc Use and Ovarian Cancer: A Retrospective CaseControl Study in Two US States." Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 27.3 (2016): 334.

SUMMARY OF KEY IDEAS: There are evidences that proves that the use of talc encourages cancer infection and there is need to educate the society about using products that contain high amounts of talc (Cramer 334). Johnson & Johnson has been using talc in the manufacture of its products since the year 1894 and this is to blame for the high and increasing cases of cancer in the United States. Research shows that prolonged use of products that contain talc increases the probability cancer infection and this is the reason behind the rise in the cases of cancer in the society (Jackson 23). The company is accused of carelessness in the process of making and marketing its products. This is because of the poor checks on quality control that enables harmful materials to pass to the customers leading to diverse health effects. Additionally, after being accused of manufacturing products that led to the increase in cancer attack, the company failed to warn the public of the damaging health effects that the products are causing the population. This is a high degree of carelessness in the society (Yu 12).

However, Johnson & Johnson maintains that the process of production of its products is of high quality and that their products go through various scientific processes to ensure that any harmful chemicals that might affects the health of the population and the customers are rejected. The cases in St. Louis where the company had to pay off the customers to the tune of $127 million and the two others in New Jersey prove that there is a close relation between the products of the company and cancer (Salter 54). Additionally, the company is blamed for its lack of taking quality control to stop supply of its infective products into the market. This is seen as lack of goodwill on the health of the population. The fact that about 2,000 women are filing similar suits among other potential cases of ovarian and breast cancer proves that there is need to specify tough penalties on the company to prevent the selling of products that promote the development of cancer and specifically ovarian and breast cancer among the women (Jackson 24). This is the reason why the company had to pay off the plaintiff highly.

The fact that ovarian cancer had led to the death of an Alabama woman proves the need for the company to introduce tough measures towards reduction of talc in its products. On the occasion that the company fails to keep watch of the contents of its products, it is therefore the role of the courts to impose tough fines on the company so that the company imposes the required tough measures in the process of manufacture of its products (Yu 14). It is good to acknowledge that the lives of the citizens need to be of the main focus and that any effects on health needs to be tackled to ensure that there are limited health risks in the society; this would improve the quality of health and help in reducing the cases of unnecessary deaths among the citizens. There is need to encourage the action of the courts to ensure that companies that deliver harmful products in the society are rejected.

According to the law firm, Onder Law Firm, that represented the complainant, there have been close connection between talcum powder and cancer and this dates back to the 1970s when the women that use talc powder on their genitals started to register increased risk of up to 40 percent of develop ovarian cancer (Salter 58). This proves the fact that indeed Johnson & Johnson baby powder is responsible for the disease in the society. Another relation between the use of talc powder and the increase in the cases of ovarian cancer is that the company had improved its marking strategies towards the Hispanics, Blacks and the pregnant women and it is this group of women that have recorded high percentages of ovarian cancer infection. The sharp correlation is also a suggestion that the Johnson & Johnson baby powder is the causal agent of cancer development among the women (Jackson 25).

THESIS DRAFT: To eliminate cases of carelessness in companies and reduce and ensure that companies maintain strict standards of manufacture. Additional objective is to protect the population from the use of harmful products that pose various health challenges to the society and ensure that huge penalties be placed on companies that fail to meet the requirements of standards of manufacture. Finally, quality checks need to be introduced in industries to ensure that the materials used in the companies conform to the required standards and quality assurance officers are hired to ensure that any products and materials that increase the probabilities of cancer infection are phased out in the process of manufacture. In this manner, the company needs to balance between profit making and welfare of the society and put much focus on the welfare of the society as much there is focus on the profits and revenue to the company.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE:

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies the use of talc on genital parts as possibly carcinogenic

The National Toxicology Program, that is also comprised of several other government agencies admit that there is inconclusive research into the matter about the relation between talc and cancer and this is no authoritative conclusion between talc and cancer.

The fact that talc is the softest of all minerals proves the possibility of talc particle getting into the body of human beings when used as an ingredient in the manufacture of baby powder (Cramer 334). This suggests direct correlation between talc and cancer because higher amounts of talc in the body might cause changes in the structure of cells and division of the same.

There have been past cases where the company had been sued for using harmful materials in the manufacture of its products, this proves that there are loopholes in the process of manufacture of product and Johnson & Johnson company which proves the possibility of the company encouraging the use of talc in its products even with the knowledge that there might be negative effects.

The action of health and consumer groups to coerce the company to eliminate the use of 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde was instrumental in protecting the population from harmful products that increase the cases of cancer in the society.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What are the blanket regulations that need to be enacted on the raw materials that companies use for the manufacture of their products?

What common penalties should be introduced on companies that encourage the use of carcinogenic products in the society?

What are the roles of consumer groups in protecting the consumers and improvement of quality of products from industries?

Conclusion

Although the case at Johnson & Johnson has been highlighted due to the increasing cases of legal accusations regarding the use of carcinogenic talc and the heavy penalties that the firm has had to pay to the plaintiff, there are various isolated cases of unidentified cases of harmful products from companies going to the consumers (Salter 59). The society need to take the case with much seriousness and take personal initiative to eradicate products that contain carcinogenic ingredients in order to take part in the improvement of quality of health of the society. It is also evident that there is laxity in quality control systems and consumer groups and health organizations need to take part in ensuring that the consumers are protected and that stringent measures are put in place for the companies that distribute harmful products. Finally, there is need to ensure that there are effective legislations that regulate manufacture of products and law enforcement agencies need to be active to ensure that operations of all companies are streamlined to the relevant regulations (Yu 15). Until all the suggestions have been enacted and the recommendations put in place, there would be increase in preventable diseases and complications that deprive the society of its workforce and the future generation.

Works Cited

Jackson, Lucas. Woman awarded $ 70M in Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuit. Thestar.com. The Associated Press, 28 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. < https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/10/28/woman-awarded-70m-in-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-lawsuit.html>.

Yu, Roger. Jury Awards more than $70M to woman in J&J baby powder cancer lawsuit. USA Today. The Associated Press, 28 Oct. 2016. Web 13 Nov. 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/10/28/johnson-jnj-talcum-baby-powder-ovarian-cancer/92878176/.

Salter, Jim. Woman wins $70M lawsuit claiming Johnson& Johnson baby powder caused her cancer. Associated Press, 29 Oct. 2016. Web 13 Nov. 2016. http://www.wthr.com/article/woman-wins-70m-lawsuit-claiming-johnson-johnson-baby-powder-caused-her-cancer.

Cramer, Daniel W., et al. "The Association Between Talc Use and Ovarian Cancer: A Retrospective CaseControl Study in Two US States." Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) 27.3 (2016): 334. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26689397.

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Woman Awarded $70M in Johnson&Johnson Baby Powder Lawsuit. (2021, Mar 25). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/woman-awarded-70m-in-johnson-and-johnson-baby-powder-lawsuit

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