An attorney team with The Lanier Law Firm has secured a $39 million verdict on behalf of a Salt Lake City resident based on claims that the talc used in a surgical procedure he underwent in 2014 led to his mesothelioma diagnosis. The verdict from a state court jury in Massachusetts was rendered against Georgia-based talc supplier Cimbar Performance Minerals.
Our client experienced a recurrent collapsed lung in 2014 and underwent a medical procedure known as talc pleurodesis. During the surgery, a product sold under the name “Sterile Talc Powder” was administered around his left lung to prevent further recurrence. In September of 2021, he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in the same tissue surrounding his left lung where the talc was applied. Cimbar supplied the talc – known as Elite Talc 2000 – that was used to manufacture the Sterile Talc Powder medical product.
The lawsuit stated that our client’s physicians observed “talc aggregations covering most of the lower lobe surface as well as the posterior parietal pleura, diaphragmatic surface, and pericardial surfaces.” Trial testimony by plaintiff’s experts revealed that Cimbar’s talc contained deadly asbestos fibers and that the asbestos in Cimbar’s talc caused his malignant mesothelioma.
This is the first lawsuit and first verdict involving claims of mesothelioma resulting from a talc pleurodesis procedure.
Mark Linder, Darron Berquist, and Manny Cabrera of The Lanier Law Firm represented the client and his family, along with co-counsel Danny Kraft of Meirowitz & Wasserberg and Chris Duffy of Duffy Law.
