Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $6M Verdict
Published: August 11th, 2009
A California jury has awarded $6 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by an 82-year old woman who suffered Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) after her doctor prescribed Allopurinol for gout, which it turns out she did not have.
According to the Stevens-Johnson syndrome malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that an osteopathic physician put her on Allopurinol to treat gout, without a differential diagnosis and appropriate monitoring for an adverse reaction. The plaintiff claims that the diagnosis was not correct for the pain she described in her toe.
As a reaction to Allopurinol, the plaintiff developed the debilitating and painful skin condition Stevens-Johnson syndrome and its more severe form, called Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. As a result of the injury, the plaintiff claimed that she is now dependent on others for her daily activities of living.
Stevens-Johnson is a severe skin reaction that is caused as a side effect of several medications. It is highly debilitating and causes the skin to burn from the inside out, producing blisters, severe rashes and the skin may begin to fall the body.
When the skin reaction affects more than 30% of the body, the condition is referred to as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). Treatment in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Burn Unit is often required, and the conditions are be fatal in many cases.
Allopurinol currently has warnings about the potential risk of severe skin side effects, and prescribing physicians should be on the lookout for the possible development of SJS. A multinational study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in January 2008 indicated that Allopurinol was the most common cause of SJS and TEN in Europe and Israel, constituting about 18% of all cases.
Allopurinol is the generic name for Zyloprim, made by Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. There are several generic manufacturers.
According to a press release issued by the plaintiff’s Stevens-Johnson syndrome lawyer, Brian D. Witzer, claims against two other manufacturer-defendants were settled prior to trial, but the physician-defendant refused multiple offers to settle for a fraction of the jury’s award.
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Comment by cindy on 4 September 2009:
My sister had brain cancer. and then she started taking leaquion as a result she looked like she had been burn from head to toe. She was blister everywhere. soon after she passed away.
Comment by MARY on 26 December 2009:
MY 90 YR OLD DAD WAS GVN DILANTIN FOR ALMOST 1 MO IN ERROR HE WAS TO HVE MEDICATION FOR A FEW DAY DUE TO HIM FALLING AND HITTING BACK OF HIS HEAD.AS OF SEPT 09 HE IS ABT
TO FEEL BETTER DUE TO THE RASH HE EXPERIENCED. MY DAD SURVIED DUE TO ALL OUR PRAYS GOD SAVED OUR DAD. BUT HE
WENT THRU HELL WNT FRM ABR 170 POUNDS TO 125 POUNDS.
Comment by melissa on 4 May 2010:
I had pharyingitis a viral disease I was given a strep test it was negative . the doctor who treated me with several antibiotics. My doctor and the specialist determined that it was the antibiotics that caused me to have stevens johnson.
Comment by Joan on 27 November 2011:
My husband was prescribed and took Allopurinol after a routine annual medical check up in October 2009. He subsequently had to be evacated from Africa, and spent 3 weeks in the burns unti in intensive care i North London Hopital. He has had cornea transplant and several operations for sight related secondary effects of the SJS he was eventually dignosed off. He will use artifical tears for the rest of his life, we are told, he lost his job as a result and has suffered untold emotional and psychological distress as a result.