Woman Issues $417 Million Warning Over What She Put Between Legs Every Day For 41 Years

A Los Angeles jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $417 million to a woman who claimed regular use of the company’s baby powder caused her ovarian cancer.

The jury found Johnson & Johnson liable for failing to warn its customers about the potential cancer risks associated with using its talcum powder, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Eva Echeverria, 63, is one of seven women who filed lawsuits against the company in Los Angeles Superior Court in July 2016, KCAL reports.

“We are grateful for the jury’s verdict on this matter and that Eva Echeverria was able to have her day in court,” said Echeverria’s attorney, Mark Robinson. “These cases are about fighting for justice for women all over California who are suffering from ovarian cancer because of Johnson & Johnson’s covering up the truth for so many years.”

During her testimony, Echeverria discussed how her daughter took care of her following her diagnosis a decade ago.

“I was diagnosed when she was 16 years old,” the mother said in court. “She couldn’t graduate until she was 21 because she was taking care of me. I feel like she was cheated out of her teen years because she had to stop and take care of me.”

The lawsuit states that studies conducted between 1971 and 1982 revealed a link between talc and ovarian cancer. Echeverria alleged that based on those studies and later allegations and public health studies, Johnson & Johnson should have been aware that it was marketing a product potentially harmful to women.

Echeverria used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder consistently for 41 years. The American Cancer Society states that there have been many studies done on a possible link between the product and ovarian cancer. Results have been mixed, however.

“In medicine, we usually say association does not mean causation,” said Dr. Anthony Picket of Dignity Healthy California Hospital. “So until further information is forthcoming, I recommend patients to be cautious.”

Johnson & Johnson maintained in its defense that there has not been scientific evidence to support claims that the product is linked to ovarian cancer. A spokeswoman for the company said it will appeal the jury’s decision.

The jury’s verdict consisted of $347 million in punitive damages and $70 million in compensatory damages.

Echeverria felt that the verdict was a major legal victory, but that it still won’t cure her cancer.

“I have a grandson,” she said. “When he hugs me and kisses me, it makes me sad because I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to tell him that I love him.”

Sources: Los Angeles Times, KCAL / Featured Image: Mike Mozart/Flickr / Embedded Images: Robinson Calcagnie Inc. via AP via The Telegraph, AP via The Telegraph