Lawsuit Over Motrin Skin Problems, Blindness May Proceed: Judge

A federal judge has cleared the way for a Children’s Motrin lawsuit to move forward accusing Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn about the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening skin problems from Motrin. 

Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez rejected a motion by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, that sought summary judgment in a complaint brought by two children and their families.

The complaint alleges that McNeil failed to properly warn consumers that side effects Motrin may included a risk of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), debilitating reactions that cause the skin to burn from the inside out.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of two minor children, Blane Newman and Mariam Khawam, and Newman’s parents, Gary and Debra Newman, in 2010 after the children were diagnosed with SJS and TEN in 2009 after taking Children’s Motrin to treat fevers.

McNeil attempted to argue that SJS and TEN side effects were so rare that it did not need to warn consumers about them. Valdez rejected that argument, saying it was not a defense against a failure to warn.

SJS and TEN often result in the need for treatment in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Burn Unit, and the conditions can be fatal in many cases. Even when not fatal, the condition can cause organ damage, disfigurement through skin loss, and blindness.

The Motrin skin problems are listed as a potential side effect on prescription-strength ibuprofen, but the lower-dose over-the-counter versions marketed as Motrin and Children’s Motrin do not warn that the drug could cause Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. In addition, over-the-counter Motrin labels in some other countries do carry such warnings.

Last year, the drug maker was hammered by a Los Angeles jury that awarded more than $48 million to a man diagnosed with SJS after taking Motrin as a teen. That case was the second last year for a plaintiff who claimed that Motrin, the brand name for ibuprofen, causes SJS or TEN.

In May, a Philadelphia jury awarded $10 million in a Children’s Motrin lawsuit brought by the family of Brianna Maya, a 12-year-old girl who has been left blinded in one eye and suffered burns over 84% of her body after taking the drug in 2000. In that case, the jury also ruled that Johnson & Johnson was negligent in failing to provide proper warnings about the risk of SJS and TEN from Children’s Motrin on the medication’s label.