Labeling Suit Costs Johnson & Johnson $63 Million

A tragic reaction to a widely used medication – Children’s Motrin manufactured by Johnson & Johnson – caused a child to develop toxic epidermal necrolysis, eventually losing her sight and most of her skin in 2003.

Now, a jury has awarded the Massachusetts teenager and her parents a sum of $63 million over claims that the New Jersey-based multinational failed to provide adequate warnings of potential side effects on the medication’s label.

The extremely rare condition is usually caused by a reaction to drugs. Symptoms first include a fever before severely affecting the mucous membranes, leading to peeling skin covering the entire body.

Mystery Illness - Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

The Jury’s decision reached Wednesday was met with protests from J&J’s McNeil consumer healthcare division and a statement read, “We disagree with today's verdict and are considering additional legal options. The Reckis family has suffered a tragedy and we sympathize deeply with them.” However, the company believes the label contains sufficient information on side effects and the cause of the teen’s conditions “are very rare conditions, and the specific cause is difficult to ascertain.”

The settlement awarded $50 million to the victim and $6.5 million to each of her parents.