Hair Relaxer Litigation

The nationwide litigation effort to hold hair relaxer companies responsible for gynecologic cancers caused by their products continues. Over eight thousand women, represented by over 100 different law firms, have filed cases that have been assigned by the courts to be developed together as a Multidistrict litigation (or “MDL”) before one federal judge, Hon. Mary Rowland in Chicago, Illinois.

Discovery – the legal term for formal evidence collection in a lawsuit –is fully underway in the MDL. On January 18, 2024, plaintiffs and defendants submitted a Joint Status Report, which informed the court on happenings within the discovery process. Progress is being made and plaintiffs are pushing back on defendants’ delay and deterrence tactics. On January 22, 2024, plaintiffs submitted a statement regarding key discovery disputes that still exist. Plaintiffs reported to the court that defendants have not: 1) identified all ingredients in each of the hair relaxer products in question, 2) declared the locations that have been searched for the required documents, and 3) answered all interrogatories (or written questions) that have been served to them. Judge Rowland set February 29, 2024 as the deadline for defendants to finalize and complete all production in response to the first round of written discovery.

Fact discovery closes on January 17, 2025 and Judge Rowland ruled that “Case Education Day” or “Science Day”, where the parties present their scientific evidence, will occur after the end of fact discovery.

Please stay up to date by visiting hairrelaxercase.org.

Camp Lejeune

Many people of color spent time at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1953 and December 1987. In 2022, Congress recognized that exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune caused many illnesses, and passed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act to allow veterans and civilians who suffered from such illness to file claims for damages. These claims are progressing quickly in North Carolina federal court, with Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser serving as one of the court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs. Trials for certain illnesses may begin as early as this spring. Plaintiffs’ counsel hope that these trial will lead to settlement negotiations for all claimants. The government just released a new study further confirming the link between contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and many cancers, which will be important to the litigation. Plaintiffs’ leadership counsel keeps the public updated on all case developments on this webpage.

Exposure to the water at Camp Lejeune has been found to cause many types of cancers, Lou Gehrig’s disease/ALS, as well as birth defects and negative birth outcomes. Anyone who thinks exposure at Camp Lejeune might have caused an illness—to themselves or to a deceased loved one—can file an administrative claim with the Navy. If the Navy does not respond for six months, they can file a claim in court using a simplified Short Form Complaint. We recommend

speaking with an attorney before taking any action, as the information provided to the Navy can limit damages in a lawsuit. More information can be found here: https://www.lieffcabraser.com/injury/camp-lejeune.

Jackson, Mississippi and Benton Harbor, Michigan Lead Water Crisis Cases

Lead is a toxic metal that causes severe health consequences, especially in children. There is no safe level of exposure to lead.

Proposed class actions have been filed on behalf of residents of Jackson, Mississippi and Benton Harbor, Michigan alleging residents have consumed lead-contaminated water in their public water supply through the actions and failures of their elected officials and private companies.

In Benton Harbor, Michigan, plaintiffs successfully defeated the State of Michigan’s motion to dismiss the case in the Court of Claims. In federal court, the claims are moving forward against the City of Benton Harbor. The defendants have appealed both these orders in favor of plaintiffs. A third proposed class action has been filed in Michigan state court against the private engineering companies and City defendants. The City defendants have filed a motion arguing plaintiffs’ claims are untimely and plaintiffs will oppose this motion.

In Jackson, on February 5, 2024, the federal court judge dismissed plaintiffs’ constitutional claims and plaintiffs are evaluating next steps regarding these claims. However, plaintiffs’ negligence claims move forward against the City of Jackson and the private engineering company and the case continues.

To learn more, please visit: Benton Harbor: https://www.lieffcabraser.com/environment/benton-harbor-water-poisoning/ and Jackson: https://www.lieffcabraser.com/environment/jackson-mississippi/.

Social Media Harms to Children and Teens

In 2023, both the Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association put out health advisories on the harmful impact social media use can have on our youth. These harms include anxiety and depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal behavior. Social media use, however, may differ by race, ethnicity, and gender. As recently reported by the New York Times, a new study by Pew found “Black and Hispanic teenagers ages 13 to 17 spend far more time on most social media apps than their white peers. One-third of Hispanic teenagers, for example, say they are ‘almost constantly’ on TikTok, compared with one-fifth of Black teenagers and one-tenth of white teenagers. Higher percentages of Hispanic (27 percent) and Black teenagers (23 percent) are almost constantly on YouTube compared with white teenagers (9 percent); the same trend is true for Instagram.” Social media thus can disproportionality impact the mental well-being of Black and Hispanic teenagers. If you are concerned about the impact of social media on your child’s self-esteem and mental health, please consult the Surgeon General’s advisory at https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf. For more information about lawsuits against the social media companies for harms caused to youth, please visit https://www.lieffcabraser.com/injury/social-media-addictions/

Necrotizing Entercolitis (NEC) in Babies Fed Cow-Milk Infant Formula

NEC is the most common, serious gastrointestinal disease affecting newborn infants. Preterm and low birth weight babies have a higher risk of NEC. LCHB represents families whose children suffered by using this product.

The potentially lethal disease NEC in preterm and low-weight infants has been linked to the use of cow-milk based formula, including Similac and Enfamil. Despite the strong medical evidence establishing the extreme dangers that cow-based products pose for premature infants, manufacturers have marketed and continue to market their cow-based products as an equally safe alternative to breast milk, and indeed have promoted their products as necessary for additional nutrition and growth. Formula companies have historically targeted women of color and systemic and structural barriers, including racism, have resulted in Black and Hispanic families using formula (rather than breastfeeding) at higher rates than white families.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.lieffcabraser.com/tag/infant-formula/

Talcum Powder Litigation

Johnson & Johnson marketed talcum powder to women and girls, especially women and girls of color, for decades for personal hygiene use and as a method of absorbing moisture. Tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed by women alleging Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and Shower to Shower products caused their epithelial ovarian cancer. As alleged in the lawsuits, the ovarian cancer risks were concealed from consumers, a “failure to warn” that has led to injuries and deaths from talc exposure. LCHB represents women who suffered ovarian cancer after use of this product. For more information, please visit: https://www.lieffcabraser.com/injury/drugs/talcum-powder-ovarian-cancer/