Federal Judge Excludes Certain Plaintiff Expert Testimony from Talc Ovarian Cancer Trials, Deeming Them Not Scientifically Sound

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – April 27, 2020: Johnson & Johnson (“the Company”) (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, chief judge of the District of New Jersey, who is presiding over the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving claims that Johnson’s Baby Powder causes ovarian cancer, decided that certain plaintiff expert witnesses did not present scientifically sound evidence to support aspects of their opinions and therefore cannot present these theories before a jury.The Company is pleased the decision did not limit the testimony of any of the Company’s expert witnesses despite efforts by plaintiffs’ lawyers to do so. Further, the Company is pleased that plaintiffs will have significant restrictions on what theories its experts can present before the jury. Importantly, Judge Wolfson limited the testimony of plaintiffs’ asbestos testing expert, Dr. William Longo, and held that another expert, Dr. Ghassen Saed, cannot testify that his experiments showed that talc can cause ovarian cancer.The Daubert decision is not a determination by the court on the validity of the plaintiff’s allegations. Johnson & Johnson will continue to defend these lawsuits at trial, and plaintiffs must meet their burden of proof, including both general and specific causation, at any trial that may be scheduled. The Company is prepared to shine a light on the flaws in plaintiff experts’ opinions in front of juries, just as it has in state court ca...
Source: Johnson and Johnson - Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Our Company Source Type: news