Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by a US jury to pay $55 million to Gloria Ristesund, a woman who has been using the company’s talc powder products for feminine hygiene.

This is the second straight trial loss for the company which faces close to 1,200 lawsuits. The company has been accused with not adequately warning consumers about its talc based products cancer risks. This recent trial which lasted three weeks in Missouri was discussed by the jury for one day before giving a favourable verdict for the plaintiff, Miss Ristesund.

J&J in response has said that the verdict contradicts over 30 years of research supporting the safety of the talc. The company intends to appeal the jury’s decision and would continue to defend the safety of its products.

Ristesund said she used J&J’s talc based powder products like Baby Powder and Shower to Shower powder on her genitals for decades. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had to undergo a hysterectomy and other related surgeries. Her cancer is now in remission.

This verdict follows a $72 verdict by the same court earlier in February to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer years after using talc powder for feminine hygiene. All plaintifs in the talc litigation have accused J&J of failing for years to warn that the talc was linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer. J&J in its defence says it has developed and marketed its products ethically.

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