Personal Injury Attorneys

On May 19, 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced that it was removing Johnson's Baby Powder from the US and Canada. They claim the removal is not due to any danger to public health but rather because of “misinformation” about the product:

This should not be read as some kind of capitulation on the ovarian cancer issue or the baby powder litigation.

We tell our clients that Johnson & Johnson is perhaps the most litigious amongst all of the Big Pharma corporations and we can expect them to continue litigating these cases for years to come. That said, in our 20 years of experience representing victims of bad drugs and medical products, removing a questionable product from the market (either “voluntary withdraw” or FDA recall) is often a precursor to settlement of a litigation. If Johnson & Johnson came out and admitted that their product may be causing cancer there would be an incredible flood of new cases because bringing a case would not contain costs and risk. On the other side of the equation, by taking the product off the market, Johnson & Johnson removed a very big issue from future trials - does the jury need to make a statement against the company to protect future users of the product.

Removing the talcum baby powder from the market can be seen as a victory for some of the doctors and scientists that have made it their mission to expose the danger of the product. These scientists have our gratitude for their devotion to public health. On the other hand, those doctors and scientists may now spend less time and energy railing against the product because they have accomplished their public health mission.

Time will tell whether this is a tactic to help Johnson & Johnson fight longer and harder (their default mode) or is it a precursor to settlement.

We recommend to our clients to continue to be patient. There is still likely a long road ahead.