A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury voted 9-3 to deny the family of 11-year-old Sabrina Johnson an award, stating that Johnson & Johnson, as well as McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals were not liable for Sabrina’s blindness.
The parents of the girl sued Johnson & Johnson for $1 billion, claiming Children’s Motrin nearly killed Sabrina and left her legally blind. Their attorney says he will appeal the ruling. Their lawsuit claims that in 2003, Sabrina, then six-years-old, suffered a rare allergic reaction after being given Children’s Motrin. The reaction, called Stevens-Johnsons syndrome, caused inflammation of Sabrina’s mouth, mucous membranes, and eyes. This is a potentially deadly syndrome experts believe may be caused by reaction to some drugs, including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, and anti-inflammatory medications. It may also be caused by infections.
Sabrina testified during the trial that her eyes became so sensitive and painful that she spent the daylight hours inside a cardboard box for several weeks. Doctors testified that the chances of having a reaction to ibuprofen like Sabrina did are one in a million.
The jury found that Children’s Motrin carried a “substantial and dangerous” risk to consumers and that Johnson & Johnson failed to properly provide warnings. However, they found that this lack of warning was not a “substantial factor in causing harm” to Sabrina. One juror stated that Joan Johnson, Sabrina’s mother, failed to follow directions by giving her daughter the medicine after she woke up with puffy eyes.
The suit was asking for $14 million in actual damages, $103 million for pain and suffering, and $950 million for punitive damages.
Although the Johnson family was denied an award, there are many defective drugs out there that are not properly labeled and have caused serious injury. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a defective pharmaceutical, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
