Johnson & Johnson to pay $15 million to US man who claims its talc gave him cancer
Connecticut: Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been ordered to pay $15 million to a U.S. man who alleges that he developed mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, after using the company’s talc powder for decades.
According to Reuters, Plaintiff Evan Plotkin sued the company in 2021 soon after his diagnosis, saying he became ill from inhaling J&J's baby powder. The verdict by jury comes as J&J seeks to resolve claims from over 62,000 individuals who say that they got ovarian and other gynaecological cancers from talc through a nearly $9 billion settlement in bankruptcy.
While the bankruptcy deal faces legal challenges from some plaintiffs' lawyers and has put lawsuits related to gynaecological cancers on hold, it does not impact the smaller number of mesothelioma claims, such as Plotkin's. J&J has settled some of those claims in the past but has not proposed a nationwide settlement yet.
Plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits say that J&J's talc products, including its once iconic baby powder, were tainted with asbestos, a carcinogen known to cause mesothelioma and other cancers, as mentioned by the news agency.
J&J denies these allegations, maintaining that its products are safe and free of asbestos.
The company withdrew its talc-based powder products from the U.S. market in 2020.
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UP: Police official shunted after killing of two senior employees of biogas plant in Budaun
Budaun (UP) (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government has shunted the Circle Officer of the area in connection with the recent killing of two senior officials at an HPCL compressed biogas plant in the district, officials said on Sunday.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hirdesh Katheriya said that Ujhani Circle Officer Devendra Singh has been attached to the Police headquarters in Lucknow, and Rahul Pandey of UP-112 emergency response service has been posted to Budaun in his place.
The action comes a day after the state government transferred Senior Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Singh following the double murder at the plant in Sejni village in the Musajhag area.
Meanwhile, under the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Bareilly divisional commissioner to conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
The incident took place on Thursday when Sudhir Kumar Gupta, 58, deputy general manager at the facility, and Harshit Sharma, 34, an assistant manager, were shot dead by Ajay Pratap Singh, who was earlier a vendor at the plant here in the district.
The main accused has been arrested, and authorities have also pasted notices on six shops allegedly owned by him in Sejni village that were reportedly constructed over government land, they said, adding that the demolition may be carried out after due procedure.
In view of the incident, authorities have also decided to establish a police outpost inside the plant premises with the deployment of two sub-inspectors and eight police personnel to enhance security.
