Johnson & Johnson asked to pay Rs. 202 crores to cancer patient who used its talcum powder
A United States jury on Wednesday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $29 million (Rs 202 crore) to a woman diagnosed with cancer, who alleged that the asbestos in the firm’s talcum-powder-based products caused her disease, Reuters reported. This is the latest development in over 13,000 lawsuits the company is facing across the US.
The pharmaceutical firm is also embroiled in a case involving faulty hipimplants.
The conglomerate said it would appeal the order and cited “serious procedural and evidentiary errors” in the trial’s proceedings. “We respect the legal process and reiterate that jury verdicts are not medical, scientific or regulatory conclusions about a product,” the company said.
Johnson & Johnson had refuted allegations that the product causes cancer and cited several studies and tests that to prove that its talc is safe.
The petitioner, Terry Leavitt, said she used Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower during the 1960s and 1970s before being diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017.
In July 2018, a jury in Missouri ordered the pharmaceutical company to pay $4.7 billion (Rs 32,169 crore) in damages to 22 women who alleged that they had developed ovarian cancer after using the company’s talc products.
The US Food and Drug Administration had commissioned a study of a variety of talc samples, including Johnson & Johnson’s, from 2009 to 2010. It found no asbestos in any of them. But the prosecution lawyer told the Missouri court that the FDA and Johnson & Johnson had used flawed testing methods.
On March 10, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation in India ordered the company to pay over Rs 74.5 lakh as compensation to a patient from Maharashtra who used faulty hip implants manufactured by the pharmaceutical giant.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
