Cigarette Company and Talc Powder Company Named in Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Lois Prokocimer was diagnosed with both pleural mesothelioma and pulmonary adenocarcinoma (lung cancer) at the age of 80, in 2016. Upon her diagnosis she filed personal injury lawsuits against multiple companies, including Avon Products, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Johnson & Johnson, accusing each of negligently exposing her to asbestos in their consumer products. Though each company filed motions to have her cases dismissed, the courts have permitted at least portions of each of her claims to move forward.
Woman Blames Asbestos in Kent Cigarettes Blamed for Malignant Mesothelioma
In her claim against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Mrs. Prokocimer and her husband claimed that from March 1952 through May 1956 or 1957, the Kent cigarettes that she smoked were manufactured with a filter containing crocidolite asbestos.
The company moved for summary judgment from the failure-to-warn claim against them, arguing that the dangers were unknown and unknowable in the 1950s. However, Mrs. Prokocimer’s expert witnesses provided substantial testimony showing that the company had been aware of multiple studies linking asbestos to cancer, and that they had been urged to discontinue use of its Micronite filter.
Mesothelioma Victim Also Names Talc Companies in Lawsuit
In addition to filing suit against the cigarette company, Mrs. Prokocimer also names Avon Products and Johnson & Johnson’s in her mesothelioma lawsuits, arguing that asbestos contamination of the talc in baby powder and other powders she used throughout her life and her children’s lives led or contributed to her development of the terminal disease.
Though the court granted summary judgment on some of her claims, they permitted the mesothelioma victim’s negligence case against Johnson & Johnson to move forward, as well as her claim for punitive damages. All of the litigation will move forward for a jury to consider.
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