Jul 17, 2008 2:20 pm US/Pacific
Johnson & Johnson Cleared In Motrin Blindness Case
MALIBU
-
-
Sabrina Johnson shown recently arriving to court with her parents.
CBS
A Malibu jury voting 9-3 has cleared Johnson & Johnson -- makers of Children's Motrin -- in a billion-dollar lawsuit that had been filed by parents of a Topanga girl left blind, they said, by an allergic reaction to the product.
The jury voted against finding the company liable, but when polled two of the jurors said they were "confused" by their vote. However, when polled about their thoughts about the case, the vote stood.
The company argued Children's Motrin was safe. The parents attorney argued that Johnson & Johnson was aware that some children are allergic to their product but failed to produce such a warning on labels.
The lawsuit was filed by the parents of Sabrina Johnson, who is now 11.
After four days of deliberations and medical testimony on both sides, the jurors decided the plantiff's attorney's did not prove that the drug was the cause of the girl's rare condition.
"There will be no award," sais plantiff attorney Browne Greene after the verdict was read.
More than 60 cases have been reportedly filed against the drug giant alleging the product caused Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare condition that causes excrutiating pain and near-deaths in the people who suffer from the malady.
Doctors testified that there is a one in a million chance of someone having an allergic reaction to ibuprofen, the main ingredient in Motrin.
Johnson & Johnson lawyers argued that their product is and was safe and warning labels on the product were adequate. Moreover, that the product is used billions of times a year.
Plantiff attorney's argued that the drug manufacturer knew of the risk of allergic reaction but did not specify that on the label.
Sabrina Johnson's parents were asking for $14 million in damages, $103 million for pain and suffering (the girl's and the family's) as well as punitive damages of $950 million.
Sabrina reportedly came down with Stevens-Johnson syndrome in 2003 when she was a first grader at Topanga Elementary School.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments