Prisoners Used in Asbestos Testing: What Does This Mean for Johnson & Johnson Litigation?
For decades Johnson & Johnson has faced allegations that their talcum-based products were contaminated with asbestos. Johnson & Johnson has consistently denied the allegations, but investigations by Reuters and the New York Times revealed that the company knew about asbestos-contaminated talcum powder in its products. From 1971 to the early 2000s, J&J found asbestos in its talc multiple times and failed to notify the FDA. Now, the company faces more than 38,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging that asbestos-contaminated talc caused their ovarian cancers.
Prisoner Testing
Documents unsealed during the talc-related litigation against Johnson & Johnson revealed that the company was involved in studies paying prisoners to inject them with asbestos to compare the effects on their skin to talc. Albert Kligman, a dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted hundreds of experiments on prisoners at Holmesburg Prison in Pennsylvania in the 1950s and 1960s. The U.S. government and several companies, including Dow Chemical, sponsored the study, but the unsealing of these documents revealed Johnson & Johnson’s involvement for the first time.The prison inmates were mostly black. When asked for comment by Bloomberg News, Johnson & Johnson’s spokeswoman Kim Montagnino stated:We deeply regret the conditions under which these studies were conducted, and in no way do they reflect the values or practices we employ today. As the world’s largest healthcare company, our transparent, diligent approach to bioethics is at the heart of all we promise our customers and society.
Implications for the Future
Although Johnson & Johnson claims the experiments didn’t violate ethical research standards at the time, it still doesn’t make the experimentation right. Moreover, plaintiffs could use these results in future litigation against Johnson & Johnson. They were funding experiments involving talc and asbestos nearly 70 years ago, indicating that they knew or suspected asbestos contamination was a problem with its talc products.
You Need Skilled Legal Advice
If you or a loved one face ovarian cancer or another cancer you believe may be related to using asbestos-contaminated products, you may be entitled to file suit. You’ll need an experienced legal team to guide you along the way, like the lawyers at the Madeksho Law Firm. Call us at 1-888-910-6376 or contact us online. Your initial consultation is always free, and you won’t pay a fee unless we recover money on your behalf.
