Last month, Johnson & Johnson Inc. was slapped with a $417 million baby powder verdict in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

The case revolved around plaintiff Eva E., who developed ovarian cancer after using the Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products for years.

Eva was the first of several plaintiffs to go to trial seeking a baby powder verdict against the pharmaceutical and hygiene product giant. The case is part of a consolidation of several California claims against the related companies involving hundreds of other complainants.

The baby powder verdict with its record-high award was arrived at after a month-long trial in Los Angeles. The jury was convinced through the hearing of evidence that the plaintiff’s ovarian cancer was indeed caused using the defendants’ talc-based products.

They also were convinced that the two defendants conspired to keep information from the public about the connection between ovarian cancer and genital talc application. Thus, the key issue surrounding this case was the failure to warn.

The liability part of the baby powder verdict was reached by a 9 to 3 jury vote. The jurors who voted against the plaintiff’s case were not allowed to participate in determining the final amount of the award levied against the defendants. Johnson & Johnson took this opportunity to argue in favor of jury misconduct on Sept. 15, 2017 and asked for a new trial.

Because of disallowing the jury members voting for the defendants from having a say in determining the baby powder verdict amount, Johnson and Johnson declared that the verdict was arrived at by “passion and prejudice” – reason enough for allowing a new trial, the company claimed.

Eva successfully fought the bid for a new trial, however, and brought it to the attention of the court that there was no evidence usable in court that proved the alleged defect.

The breakdown of the $417 million baby powder verdict allowed Eva to take home $70 million in compensatory damages. In addition, $347 million in punitive damages was levied against Johnson & Johnson and related companies. This was a sizable increase above other damages arrived at by juries in St. Louis recently.

The defendants questioned the science presented in the trial and called it speculative at best. The expert witnesses hired by the plaintiff suggested that the use of talcum products creates a situation of chronic inflammation which in turn can produce ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson says there is no data proving this relationship.

Eva is part of a group of seven women that filed against Johnson & Johnson in July 2016 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. She developed ovarian cancer in 2007.

This Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. BC68228 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.