Johnson & Johnson saw its stock fall 9 percent after the Friday publication of a Reuters report that alleges the company did not tell regulators or…
Johnson & Johnson saw its stock fall 9 percent after the Friday publication of a Reuters report that alleges the company did not tell regulators or the public about asbestos found in its talc products, including baby powder, for decades.
Individuals sued Johnson & Johnson for years claiming asbestos in its products made them seriously ill, but the report details brand-new company documents in which executives, lawyers and scientists discuss powder samples that were found to contain asbestos in the lab.
The documents became available only once Johnson & Johnson was compelled to share them with 11,700 plaintiffs claiming its baby powder and similar products gave them cancer, according to Reuters.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. The effects of asbestos can take years to manifest after exposure to the carcinogen. (RELATED: 78-Year- Old Murderer Who Could Be America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer Found Guilty In 1994 Cold Case)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned many uses of asbestos in the 1970s, according to the its website .
The Reuters story focused on Darlene Coker, a woman who died in 2009 at age 63 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. She sued Johnson & Johnson after years of using its baby powder, but had to drop the suit in 1999 when she couldn’t provide enough evidence, reported Reuters.
Darlene Coker is shown on a kitchen table full of many personal pictures of her family life in California, U. S. August 15,2018. Picture taken August 15,2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Cady Evans and her sister Crystal Deckard hold an old photograph as they reminisce on the loss of their mother in California, U. S. August 15,2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Johnson & Johnson has had both favorable and unfavorable verdicts in cases involving plaintiffs who allege its talc products gave them mesothelioma, according to Reuters.
