APRIL 30, 2015
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (AP)
A Los Angeles jury awarded $13 million to a 73-year-old
woman who contracted a deadly disease from using asbestos-containing talcum
powder manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Jurors deliberated for two hours Tuesday before finding that
New York-based Colgate was 95 percent responsible for Judith Winkel's
mesothelioma, a fatal lung disease, according to her lawyers. The verdict
included $1.4 million in damages for her husband.
Winkel's lawyers said she got the rare cancer from using
Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder.
"This is an example of the legal system exposing what a
company should have been honest about 50 years ago," attorney Chris
Panatier said. "Judith Winkel only wanted a jury to hear the truth about
this product and hopefully to help others who are similarly exposed."
While billions of dollars have been paid in verdicts and
settlements to people sickened by exposure to asbestos, it's often in cases
related to use of the mineral in construction materials or insulation. Tiny
fibers of the carcinogen can be breathed in and lodge in the lungs, leading to
fatal illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
The Food and Drug Administration conducted a study more than
five years ago that found no asbestos in cosmetics it tested containing talcum
powder.
However, the agency said there's been concern about asbestos
contamination in talc since the 1970s. Some studies have shown a possible
association between use of talc powders and ovarian cancer but have not
conclusively linked the two, the agency said.
Jurors found the company negligent for the design,
manufacture or sale of the product and found that it presented a substantial
danger that they failed to warn consumers about.
Colgate, which sold Cashmere Bouquet in 1995, said it was
disappointed with the verdict.
"We believe that the facts and evidence presented at
trial showed that Cashmere Bouquet ... played no part in causing the
plaintiff's illness," the company said in a statement.
Panatier said it was the first verdict against
Colgate-Palmolive involving asbestos exposure from talcum powder.
An appeals court in New Jersey recently affirmed a $1.6
million verdict awarded to a man with mesothelioma who said he got the disease
from cosmetic talc.
In Winkel's case, there will be no appeal. She and Colgate reached a confidential
settlement Wednesday before the jury was set to hear evidence to determine
punitive damages.