Ready to Remodel an Older Home? Beware of Common Asbestos Locations
April 12, 2022Is a recent FDA white paper on talc testing too little and too late?
April 26, 2022
Despite Johnson & Johnson’s continuing efforts and legal maneuvers to minimize the financial damage caused by their talc-based products, high-profile news stories continue to document the link between the company’s offerings and the negative and potentially deadly impact on consumers.
J&J is attempting to spike a news report covering their legal strategies to fight against lawsuits filed by victims diagnosed with cancer supposedly linked to their baby powder products. The company cites the use, if not an abuse of confidential company documents as a disqualifying factor in any claims for First Amendment protection, specifically freedom of the press.
Complicating the process
Reuters reported that company covertly launched “Project Plato” in 2021 to shield the company from liability from 38,000 pending lawsuits. Their plan was to create a new subsidiary that would be immediately put into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, allowing the company to settle claims instead of litigating them one by one.
The corporation mired in continuing controversy wants to continue discussions with Reuters regarding the article’s source material. They are asking that documents purportedly protected from public disclosure be returned.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs claim it denies their clients their rightful day in court. J&J counters that the move towards bankruptcy is legitimate. They also continue their claim that the consumer talc products they sell are both safe and asbestos-free.
While legal entanglements continue among attorneys from both sides, victims of asbestos exposure from a longtime and supposedly safe product line continue the waiting game, as do surviving family members. The process of holding a prominent corporation accountable continues to be measured in not months and years but decades.