SJS Lawsuit - Stevens Johnson Syndrome Lawyer - Medication Side Effects Attorney

Browne Greene Will Give Opening Statement Friday, June 13, 2008 in Children’s Motrin Product Liability Trial

-MedScape

06/11/2008 - Browne Greene will give his Opening Statement on Friday, June 13, 2008 at 9:00 AM in 11-year old Sabrina Brierton Johnson’s Children’s Motrin product liability lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in Los Angeles Superior Court/West District, Malibu Courthouse, Department W, 23525 Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA. 90265. McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of McNeil-PPC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), is a co-defendant in the case. Miss Johnson claims that she suffered an allergic reaction (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome) to taking Children’s Motrin in 2003 which caused her to become blind and photosensitive, among other serious injuries.

Sabrina Brierton Johnson vs. Johnson & Johnson, et. al., Case Number TC 018540.

The trial, which began June 5, 2008, is expected to last six-weeks and is being heard before the Hon. Cesar C. Sarmiento. Sabrina’s parents, Kenneth and Joan Brierton Johnson, are acting as her guardians ad litem. Her complaint for damages was filed December 28, 2004 for strict product liability, negligence and personal injury. The Plaintiff is also seeking punitive damages. Miss Johnson is represented by Browne Greene and Alan Van Gelder.

On September 8, 2003, Topanga, CA. resident Sabrina Brierton Johnson (then age-six) came home from school complaining of a fever and was given Children’s Motrin by her parents in accordance with the materials and instructions included with the drug. The next morning, she awoke with a high fever, a pink color in her eyes, and red lips covered in sores and was seen by her pediatrician. She was immediately hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. with a high fever, redness of the sclera (white of the eye), sore throat and a rash covering her back, trunk and lower pelvis.

By September 10, 2003, per the complaint, Sabrina was blind in both eyes, and was subsequently diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome resulting from ingesting the Children’s Motrin. Since then, Sabrina has undergone more than 20 surgical procedures and countless hospitalizations as a result of the injuries she suffered from ingesting Children’s Motrin, and Sabrina is legally blind.

“Sabrina Brierton Johnson’s lawsuit is the first case to go to trial against Johnson & Johnson for injuries we maintain were caused by taking Children’s Motrin,” explained Browne Greene. “She is one of multiple victims who will be seeking justice from Johnson & Johnson in 2008 and 2009 for injuries attributed to Children’s Motrin, including cases that are taking place in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah. The public should know that in prior years, Johnson & Johnson has been well-aware of other children who have been injured by Children’s Motrin such as the tragic example of Kaitlyn Langstaff, a nine-year old California girl who died from complications after taking Children’s Motrin in 2003, and whose wrongful death case was quietly settled out of court by Johnson & Johnson.”

“The gloves are off,” continued Browne Greene. “Make no doubt about it that we intend to reveal the truth that Johnson & Johnson so desperately wishes to hide which is that Children’s Motrin is not a benign, harmless drug, but a dangerous one. It is time to hold Johnson & Johnson accountable for misleading the public and for the horrific harm it has wreaked upon the most vulnerable and trusting segment of society, our children.”

Since the 1980s, Miss Johnson contends that Johnson & Johnson and McNeil have known about the risks and dangers associated with Children’s Mortin (Ibuprofen). Plaintiff alleges that Defendants were put on notice about the serious side-effects of Children’s Motrin by the scientific community, by numerous adverse event reports that were coming in directly to McNeil about the drug, and that, in fact, Defendants were warning about its dangers in other countries.

As a prescription-only drug, Children’s Motrin carried a warning about Stevens-Johnson Syndrome on its package insert. Plaintiff alleges that In the 1990s, McNeil petitioned the FDA for approval to have Children’s Motrin sold over-the-counter (OTC)and failed to provide the FDA information about the dangers of Ibuprofen found in a major pediatric clinical study of the drug (Boston University Fever Study). In 1995, Children’s Motrin was approved by the FDA for OTC sale to consumers, but it did not carry any warning about the risk of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. The Plaintiff further contends that despite promising to conduct an investigation into the dangers of Children’s Motrin, the Defendants did nothing until forced by the FDA to make labeling changes to Children’s Motrin in 2006.

Editor’s Note

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and is sold over-the-counter under such brand names as: Children’s Motrin, Motrin, Advil, Genpril, Haltran, Medipren, Midol 200, Nuprin and PediaProfen.