Baby Powder Trial Ends As The Plaintiff Has Died

The trial of a terminally ill plaintiff was moved up because of his terminal illness

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 - The first online trial of Johnson & Johnson and co-defendants "retailers Safeway, CVS-owned Longs Drugs and Lucky Stores, along with O'Reilly Auto Parts and Bendix Corporation, has ended unexpectedly and without the anticipated excitement, in a mistrial because the plaintiff, 54-year old Louis Reyes, was taken ill and died from mesothelioma. The trial was expedited under a California law that moves personal injury trials of those thought to be terminally ill, to the front of the line. Courtroom View News (CVN) was broadcasting the court proceedings. Experts expect that the estate of the deceased will continue with their lawsuit and include a charge of wrongful death. The plaintiff claimed to have developed Mesothelioma, a rare and deadly form of cancer of the lining of the lungs, from using Johnson's Baby Powder as underarm and overall body deodorant daily for decades according to CVN. The plaintiff was also allegedly exposed to asbestos from automotive brakes installed while practicing his sideline work of repairing cars. Talcum powder cancer lawsuit lawyers represent families and individuals nationwide and offer a free consultation with no obligation to file a claim.

Johnson & Johnson is being sued by around 20,000 plaintiffs, mostly women that have developed or died from ovarian cancer allegedly from using Johnson's Baby Powder for feminine deodorant and dryness. The Plaintiff's hopes have been bolstered recently when the Missouri Supreme Court failed to consider overturning a $2.69 billion Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer jury award to 22 women who suffered or died from ovarian cancer, The trial results are suspected of causing Johnson & Johnson to discontinue selling their iconic brand of baby powder in North America. Johnson & Johnson recently settled 1000 mesothelioma lawsuits against them for 100 million dollars rather than try to defend themselves at trial. It should be noted that while the jury awards in the billions of dollars and hundred-million-dollar settlements seem massive, they are but a drop in the bucket to Johnson & Johnson. Selling baby powder amounts to less than 5% of their revenue. The company continues to sell Baby Powder in Europe, India, and other densely populated countries and is accused by civil rights groups of targeting women of color with a product they know contains asbestos and caused cancer.

Ovarian cancer and mesothelioma are considered terminal illnesses, and plaintiffs may be unable to wait years for their turn in court. A plaintiff's lawyer may ask the court to expedite their trial date if certain conditions are met. For example, "When a plaintiff's age or health makes an early trial date critical, preference in the trial setting is a powerful tool. A case granted preference has enormous advantages: the trial date is expedited, and the trial date will be for certain because courts are very limited in their ability to continue the trial date in a preference case. This also moves your case to the front of the line when assigning open courtrooms for trial," according to attorney Laurel Halbany writing for Plaintiff Magazine.com.