High Court ruling may hurt claims of talc link to cancer

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(AP) – Experts say a Supreme Court ruling this week could have a
“chilling effect” on the many lawsuits filed in St. Louis claiming talcum powder
causes a deadly form of cancer in women.Justices ruled 8-1 Monday that hundreds of out-state-residents can’t sue
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in California state court over reactions to the blood
thinner Plavix. It followed a similar ruling in another case in May. Both were
seen as wins for companies opposed to “venue shopping.”

In four cases over the past 16 months, St. Louis juries have awarded more than
$300 million combined over claims Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder caused
ovarian cancer. Experts say the ruling will likely require new trials those
cases, and could mean that hundreds of additional cases will have to be filed
elsewhere.

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