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A California judge has thrown out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiff claimed that she developed ovarian cancer after using J&J's talc-based products:
The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson marked the latest setback facing women and family members who accuse J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products. The decision followed a jury's decision in August to hit J&J with the largest verdict to date in the litigation, awarding California resident Eva Echeverria $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages.
Nelson on Friday reversed the jury verdict and granted J&J's request for a new trial. Nelson said the August trial was underpinned by errors and insufficient evidence on both sides, culminating in excessive damages.
Mark Robinson, who represented the woman in her lawsuit, in a statement said he would file an appeal immediately. "We will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product," he said.
Previously: The Baby Powder Trials: How Courts Deal with Inconclusive Science
Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $417m in Latest Talc Cancer Case
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Sunday October 22 2017, @09:44PM (7 children)
It's interesting to see how people form alternative facts. J&J may win in court (hopefully), but they cannot win the PR here. It's now been established that J&J is the Bad Guy™, and while we should ever remain sceptical, especially given how easily corporations can create alternative facts such as smoking being healthy and cannabis flower being deleterious, it seems pretty clear that this is a case where we have an extraordinary claim and therefore require extraordinary evidence.
Now to circle around to a point. I remember reading an article [mtu.edu] a couple years ago about the Paulding Light. Unlike most folklore/urban legend/creepypasta, this one is easy to observe by anyone. I saw it again because MLive has a Michigan folklore article [mlive.com] in time for this Halloween. There are some interesting explanations:
However, it turns out that it's just headlights from a highway about four and a half miles away from the viewing location. That's a very mundane, straight-forward explanation, akin to five decades of exposing one's body to a known carcinogen and then developing cancer.
Yet for some people, that's not good enough, despite how thorough the Michigan Tech team was.
So there you have it. Two (presumably independent) investigations reveal a mundane explanation. Yet some folks won't be convinced.
Same thing with all other kinds of alternative facts. I'm personally looking forward to the complete unsurprise I'll experience if feminist leaders decide to go on a crusade against J&J or talcum powder in general. Expect the white knights to be rallied. I'm certain that along with other truthy theories like the misogynerd narrative or estrogen dominance [wikipedia.org], I'll certainly overhear some women warning each other away from J&J or talc.
It's What Doctors Won't Tell You™!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday October 22 2017, @11:08PM (3 children)
Personally I keep my ladybits fresh with a combination of daily showers, careful diet, proper washing (around, NOT inside--soap is alkaline!), and cotton undergarments. There's not enough evidence one way or another about talc, and as some have said it may be asbestos fibers rather than talc itself that are the problem, but I don't like the idea of using more substances than necessary.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 23 2017, @06:18AM (2 children)
OMG - to much information!!
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday October 23 2017, @06:31AM
Don't worry, sweetie, your mother's was the first and last vagina you will ever be close enough to that this is an issue :)
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Monday October 23 2017, @12:58PM
It's basic hygiene information. Would you prefer we were discussing penises instead?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 23 2017, @06:16AM (1 child)
Lights. As stated previously, I drove truck for several years. I've seen some strange things, which gullible people would readily attribute to UFO's or supernatural events. Many of those strange things, I have no explanation for, and I'm not even going to try to explain them away. I did get explanations for a few though. Apparently unexplainable lights in the Nevada nights are easily attributed to the stealth fighters under development at the time. Some of those strange lights were easily explained when a map was examined closely. Like the Paulding lights, some other road completely out of sight might have a lone vehicle traveling along, and creating a cool illusion. Bottom line - just because I, personally, couldn't explain some weird effect at the time, didn't mean that demons or aliens were flying through the air to terrorize me.
I'll admit, a few times, the hair on my neck stood up, 'cause I was spooked. But, I wasn't willing to look like a fool, by making wild claims about what I saw.
Gullible people are stranger than the strangest of lights.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday October 23 2017, @03:29PM
Gullible people are stranger than the strangest of lights.
Maybe, but those gullible people make up the majority of American voters.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday October 23 2017, @10:54AM
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171020105346.htm [sciencedaily.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]