Many consumers are under the assumption that the products they use each day are safe. Unfortunately, that may not always be the case, as one consumer sadly realized. Past users of Colgate-Palmolive talc products in Minnesota and across the United States may be shocked to hear the revelation that one of the company’s popular products from the past allegedly contained asbestos.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was using a product called Cashmere Bouquet, which is a body powder that contains talc. Allegedly, the talc that was used in the product was mined from deposits that contained asbestos. The woman purportedly used the product on a regular basis for roughly ten years and, in doing so, inhaled asbestos fibers from the talc. The plaintiff believes that this is the reason why she now suffers from mesothelioma.
Colgate vehemently denies that the product contained asbestos. The company contends that the minerals used did not contain asbestos because they were not fibrous in nature; therefore, they could not have been the cause of the plaintiff’s mesothelioma. The company’s lawyer also stated that the workers who were in the mines were regularly exposed, yet none of them of them contracted the disease.
The jury was quick to decide in favor of the plaintiff and held Colgate 95 percent responsible and ordered the company to pay $12.4 million in monetary damages, medical bills and for a decrease in her life expectancy. Responsibility for the other 5 percent was put on four other companies that were believed to have contributed to her asbestos-related illness. Her case was later settled for an undisclosed amount so that the case would not continue, as Colgate had intended to appeal the decision. Consumers in Minnesota who believe that they have been exposed to asbestos due to the negligence of another party can turn to the legal system to seek justice for their illnesses.
Source: fairwarning.org, “Colgate-Palmolive Suffers Courtroom Loss in Asbestos-Talc Powder Case“, Myron Levin, April 29, 2015
