Award $110.5M in baby-powder lawsuit

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis jury has awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in the latest lawsuit alleging that using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused cancer.

The jury ruling Thursday night for 62-year-old Lois Slemp, of Wise, Va., came after three previous St. Louis juries awarded a total of $197 million to plaintiffs who made similar claims. Those cases, including the previous highest award of $72 million, are all under appeal. About 2,000 state and federal lawsuits are in courts across the country over concerns about health problems caused by prolonged talcum-powder use.

Slemp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, blames her illness on her use of the company’s talcum-containing products for more than 40 years. Her cancer has spread to her liver. Although she was too ill to attend the trial, an audiotape of her deposition testimony was played. In it she said: “I trusted Johnson & Johnson. Big mistake.”

Jim Onder, one of her attorneys, said Friday that Slemp was “thrilled” when the verdict was shared with her in a phone call and that she hoped it would “send a message.” He said she was too sick to talk to reporters.

Johnson & Johnson, based in Brunswick, N.J., said in a statement that it would appeal and disputed the scientific evidence behind the allegations. The company also noted that a St. Louis jury found in its favor in March and that two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn’t reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer.