Mesothelioma News: $18m Talcum Powder Lawsuit – Nov 2016

 A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Philip Depoian a multi-million dollar verdict against talc supplier Whittaker, Clark and Daniels. Depoian claimed that the company’s asbestos containing talcum powder products that his father used at the barbershop, where his father worked, exposed him to asbestos fibers.

His father was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2015. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers in the air. The asbestos proves deadly when swallowed or inhaled. Mesothelioma has no known cure but treatments are available to prolong the life of patients. In the U. S. at least three thousand people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

Talcum powder is made from talc one of the world’s softest minerals. Talc has the ability to improve texture feel and absorb moisture. Talcum powder was and is commonly used for drying off areas on the body and at some point in history it was used to control sweat. Also it has been used for babies’ bottoms and in aftershave powders.

While there are many uses for talc, the talc deposits are often mixed with asbestos fibers. Thus it is common for talc deposits to have asbestos deposits in them.

The Talcum Powder Lawsuit

The lawsuit accused Whittaker, Clark and Daniels of marketing its talc as being asbestos free but the company is said to not have tested properly for traces of asbestos. The company supplied talc for a number of talcum powder products. Some of these products were Old Spice and Friendship Garden in the sixties and the seventies. The talc that was in their products came from some asbestos contaminated mines in North Carolina, Alabama and northern Italy.

The trial took about six weeks and the jury reached their verdict on 19^th October 2016. The jury found Whittaker, Clark and Daniels to have been thirty percent at fault for Depoian’s injuries. However, Depoian agreed to a private settlement with the company.