Back‑to‑Back Baby Powder Verdicts

Beasley Allen has secured another landmark verdict. A Philadelphia jury returned a verdict of $250 thousand in a talc‑ovarian cancer trial involving claims that years of using Johnson & Johnson’s talc‑based Baby Powder and body powders led to a devastating cancer diagnosis.

The verdict follows another recent jury result involving Johnson & Johnson’s talc products—adding to what has become a back‑to‑back run of baby powder verdicts as courts across the country continue weighing evidence about talc use and cancer risk.

A Mother’s Story: “She Used It for Years. Then Came the Diagnosis.”

At the heart of the case was Gayle Emerson, a longtime resident of York, Pennsylvania. She used talc‑based powders for feminine hygiene for more than over 45 years (15 years before hysterectomy) years, and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015 at the age of 64. Ms. Emerson tragically passed away in November 2019, but her daughter and son continued the case as administrators of her estate.

For many families, the most difficult part of ovarian cancer isn’t just the diagnosis—it’s the feeling that it could have been prevented if the risks had been made clear. That’s what this trial was about.

What the Jury Heard

The Emerson family’s claims included strict liability design defect and failure to warn, and negligence, focusing on whether Johnson & Johnson manufactured and marketed a dangerous product and whether J&J adequately warned consumers about potential risks associated with long‑term genital use of talc‑based powders.

Jurors also heard testimony and saw evidence about:

• The alleged connection between genital talc use and ovarian cancer reported in medical literature over decades;
• Concerns raised in recent scientific evaluations, including an updated classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) describing cancer risk from genital talc use as “probable”;
• Findings reported in a May 2024 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology noting a more than doubling of the risk of ovarian cancer among women who used talcum powder in their 20s and 30s, Ms. Emerson’s primary time period of exposure; and
• Research describing how talc particles applied to the genital area may migrate and contribute to inflammation and malignancy

This verdict arrives as talc litigation continues to play out nationwide. Thousands of ovarian cancer lawsuits have been filed in state courts across the U.S., and tens of thousands of claims are currently consolidated in federal proceedings in New Jersey.

Beasley Allen Won’t Back Down

For more than a century, Johnson & Johnson marketed talc-based products as safe, even for infants. Yet test results demonstrated the presence of asbestos in Johnson’s Baby Powder dating back to the 1960s and epidemiological studies have suggested a link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer since the early 1980s.

Beasley Allen became involved in talcum powder litigation after epidemiological studies confirmed the association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer. Over the past decade, Beasley Allen attorneys have tried cases nationwide, in an effort to secure justice for women harmed by talc exposure. With J&J’s third bankruptcy attempt now dismissed, Beasley Allen remains committed to fighting in court until every affected woman receives the justice and compensation she deserves.

*The amount of some verdicts may have been reduced by post-trial settlement, appeal, or remittitur. Some amounts may have been obtained by default judgment. Some verdicts and settlements were obtained in other states besides Alabama. Beasley Allen does not represent that the same or similar results would be obtained in all cases.