Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Gave Queens Woman Cancer: Suit

FLUSHING, QUEENS — A Queens woman says Johnson & Johnson baby powder gave her cancer in a new lawsuit, one of thousands the company is facing over its talc-based products, court records show.

Christine H. Simpson, 53, filed a $75,000 civil suit Wednesday alleging her near lifelong use of Johnson & Johnson's talcum products caused her to develop ovarian cancer in 1987 that required chemotherapy and tumor-removal surgery, the complaint shows.

Simpson's complaint is one of about 14,000 filed against the New Jersey-based corporation that allege Johnson & Johnson ignored scientific studies linking talc to ovarian cancer and falsely advertised their products as "clinically proven gentle and mild."

When Johnson & Johnson was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice in July, the company stated, "Johnson’s Baby Powder does not contain asbestos or cause cancer, as supported by decades of independent clinical evidence."

Patch reached out to Johnson & Johnson for comment but did not received an immediate response.

Simpson's suit points to 22 studies over the course of about 30 years that have linked genital talc use to increased risk of ovarian cancer and notes a doctor in 1982 recommended the company add a warning label to its products.

Most recently, a 2013 analysis published in Cancer Preservation Research found 20 to 30 percent of 18,000 women in case-controlled studies showed increased risk of developing ovarian cancer from genital powder use.

A Harvard Medical School study released in the early 90s shows about 14,000 women die from ovarian cancer every year.

The same day Simpson filed her suit, a New Jersey judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $37.3 million to plaintiffs who said asbestos in the company's baby powder gave them mesothelioma, Ashbury Park Press reported.

Simpson is represented by Brian Goldstein, of the law firm Cellino and Barnes, who did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.