Recently, A Chicago court has found against Avon and awarded some US$24.4 million in damages to a plaintiff and his family in the latest talc case to reach trial in the US. The plaintiff worked at an Avon facility outside Chicago in the 1980s.
Ramirez was exposed to asbestos in the early 1980s while working as a janitor at Avon’s facility in Morton Grove, Illinois, where the company processed asbestos-contaminated talc. The jury found Avon at fault for Ramirez’s illness and awarded $24.4 million to him and his family, including his wife, Maria.
“After carefully reviewing the facts of the case, the jury rejected Avon’s reprehensible attempts to impugn the dignity and integrity of Cipriano Ramirez and found that Avon was responsible for his cancer diagnosis,” said Jennifer Alesio, lead trial attorney and partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy. She was joined by partner James Kramer and shareholders Taylor Kerns, Phil Proud, and Cody Favilla in representing the Ramirez family in the Circuit Court of Cook County before Judge Scott McKenna.
Ramirez was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2023, a condition caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that become lodged in the protective lining of the lungs.
In 2022, a woman in Arizona diagnosed with mesothelioma was awarded $52.1 million in another verdict against Avon. The 76-year-old Rita-Ann Chapman stated that she used Avon’s talc-based products for most of her life.
Chapman’s lawyers argued that the talc used in these products was contaminated with asbestos. Avon is well-known for selling various talc-based cosmetics.
Court records show that Avon faced nearly 200 asbestos-related talc lawsuits in 2021. The company continues to assert that its talc products are safe. However, documents submitted in these lawsuits indicate that the company knew the talc used in its products might be contaminated with asbestos.
The lawsuits claim that the company was not only aware of the potential serious health risks of talc but also failed to warn the public and deliberately concealed the potential danger. In 2020, Avon announced that it would no longer use talc in its products.
