HOUSTON – The Lanier Law Firm’s $4.69 billion trial win on behalf of 22 women who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson’s asbestos-laden talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer is the largest verdict delivered in the U.S. in 2018, The National Law Journal reports.
Each year the legal publication’s VerdictSearch research affiliate compiles court records to determine the nation’s largest verdicts, based on actual jury awards. National Law Journal editors also search online news sources and databases to ensure the accuracy of the list.
“We are honored to receive this recognition on behalf of our clients,” said Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm. “We continue to believe that public awareness and scrutiny will inspire government regulators, the cosmetics industry, and Johnson & Johnson itself to acknowledge the inherent dangers of talc products. We hope that will lead to warning labels on these products or their removal from store shelves.”
While there have been other trials in which juries have determined that talc products tainted with asbestos caused mesothelioma cancer, this case marked the first talc-related ovarian cancer verdict in the United States. Jurors heard evidence that Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower brands have been laced with asbestos for decades, challenging representations J&J made to the Food and Drug Administration and other national and international agencies.
In addition to Mr. Lanier, the trial team included firm attorneys Rachel Lanier, Dr. Robert Leone, Michael Akselrud, and Monica Cooper. Co-counsel Eric D. Holland of the Holland Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri, was also integrally involved in the trial.
The Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, Oklahoma City, New York, and Los Angeles. For close to 30 years, the firm has worked tirelessly to find unique solutions to its clients’ unique needs. The firm is composed of more than 60 skilled attorneys, practicing in a broad array of areas, including business fraud, asbestos exposure, commercial litigation, personal injury, oil and gas litigation, among others.
