Attention Mesothelioma Patients: Talcum Powder is Poison

You’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma, but don’t know how you were exposed to asbestos?

Worthington & Caron, PC can help answer your questions.Please call us at 800-831-9399

We have obtained substantial recoveries for mesothelioma clients who used talcum powders.

  1. $18 million for a 67 year-old government employee who was diagnosed with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma after exposure to talcum powder and body and shave talc products in California. Click here.
  2. A California jury unanimously finds Colgate-Palmolive Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder caused our 73-year-old mother and grandmother’s pleural mesothelioma and awards her $13 million. Click here.

Asbestos and Talc from the Same Mines

Talc is a mineral that is mined from underground rock deposits. Asbestos is also a mineral that is mined from underground deposits.

Deposits of asbestos are adjacent to deposits of talc at many U.S. and international talc mines.

When talc is extracted and processed it can become mixed with asbestos.

Since the 1930s, medical and scientific literature has indicated that talc was commonly, if not invariably, contaminated with substances known or suspected of being carcinogenic, such as asbestos, silica, quartz, nickel, and arsenic.

For decades, products such as baby powder, perfume or cologne-scented body powders, face powders, anti-itch powders, and powdered makeup containing asbestos-contaminated talc were sold to consumers without any warning.

Click here for a partial list of talcum powders known to be contaminated with asbestos. Did you or you family use these or other brands of talcum powders?

Did you or your family members use any of these common brands?

WCPC on the forefront of Proving Asbestos in Talcum Powder

For many years, asbestos was associated with high-risk trades including construction, oil refining, and ship building..

In 1997, Worthington & Caron represented a 52-year-old female who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Our initial investigation of her past for exposure to asbestos-containing products focused on industrial, commercial, and military settings without any luck. However, she worked most of her life at a massage school and she regularly used Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Baby Powder throughout her life.

We focused our research on the talc used in cosmetic products like Baby Powder and learned that the talc used in the powder was the same talc used for industrial products.

That same year we filed a lawsuit against J&J but their continued efforts to deny access to evidence of asbestos found in their Baby Powder were successful in having the case dismissed. J&J denied responsibility, saying that their Baby Powder was asbestos-free.

This setback proved to be only temporary. In the years that followed, we continued to bring cases against J&J for mesothelioma caused by use of J&J Baby Powder. Through hard-fought discovery battles against J&Js lawyers, more and more documents were discovered revealing J&Js longstanding knowledge of asbestos in its Baby Powder. Discovery of this crucial evidence was instrumental in our clients substantial recoveries from J&J.

News of J&Js conduct reached the public at large in 2018 when Reuters News published its bombshell investigative report proclaiming: “Johnson & Johnson Knew for Decades That Asbestos Lurked in its Baby Powder.” In 2020, J&J discontinued the sale of its talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder in North America.

Since then, J&J has faced thousands of lawsuits filed on behalf of plaintiffs diagnosed with cancer.

Click here to see a very long history of asbestos in talc.

We Took on J&J and Made them Pay

In May of 2020, J&J made the decision to stop selling Johnson’s Baby Powder with talc in the United States and Canada.

Worthington Caron, PC was involved in the first mesothelioma case against J&J and has been part of the on-going effort to disclose J&J’s long-standing knowledge of asbestos in its products.

Since March of 2021, J&J has faced over 19,000 lawsuits over their talc powders.

Click here to find a compendium of news stories regarding J&J and asbestos. Check back often for updates. Some current stories included the following:


  1. Chanel, Revlon, and L’Oreal Join Johnson & Johnson in Removing Talc from Products
    Major cosmetic brands Chanel, Revlon, and L’Oreal will stop the manufacture and sale of talc-based cosmetic products.
    Click here for more

  2. J&J to Stop Sale of Talc Baby Powder – A Major Victory for US Consumers!
    Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) will stop the sale of talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada.
    Click here for more.

  3. FDA Holds Public Hearing—Stands Up to Cosmetic Talc Industry on Asbestos Testing Standards
    FDA held a public hearing on testing methodology for asbestos in talc and cosmetics. This is the first time the FDA has held a public hearing on the matter for nearly 50 years.
    Click here for more.

  4. New Mexico Sues Johnson & Johnson for False Advertising and Misleading the Public of the Dangers of Talc
    Attorney general Hector Balderas announced he has filed suit on behalf of the state of New Mexico against Johnson & Johnson and three other corporations for wrongful marketing, sale, and promotion of asbestos-containing talcum powder products.
    Click here for more.

Worthington & Caron

At Worthington & Caron, PC, our motto is “Asbestos Lawyers for Life.” The meaning is twofold – we are 100% committed getting asbestos cancer patients the justice they deserve and the life-extending medical treatment they need.

Since 1989, Worthington & Caron has been representing asbestos cancer patients and generated over 2.5 billion dollars in settlements and verdicts, including:

  1. $26.6
    MILLION
    To a 62-year-old former drywaller who was exposed to dust on residential and commercial jobsites in Southern California.
  2. $18
    MILLION
    To a 67-year-old government employee who was diagnosed with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma after exposure to talcum powder and body and shave talc products in California.
  3. $13
    MILLION
    from a jury in Los Angeles which unanimously found that Colgate-Palmolive’s Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder, which they sold from the 1930s to 1995 caused our client’s malignant mesothelioma.
  4. $10.9
    MILLION
    for the family of a former plumber and race car enthusiast who was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in 2012 at the age of 58 in Fresno, California

In addition, Worthington & Caron’s overwhelming commitment to mesothelioma research sets us apart from other lawyers. We have donated to this cause more than any other law firm we are aware of.

If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer or mesothelioma, please contact us.