Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Lawsuit Results in $3.5M Award, But No Recovery

An Illinois woman will not receive the $3.5 million awarded to her by a jury for a debilitating and sometimes deadly skin reaction, known as toxic epidermal necrolysis, which she alleged was caused by Children’s Motrin. The jury found that the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to her injuries, which bars her from any recovery under Virginia law applied in the case.

The toxic epidermal necrolysis lawsuit was filed by Karen Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Johnson & Johnson and their subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare, according to a report in Mealey’s Emerging Drugs & Devices.

Robinson alleged that she developed toxic epidermal necrolysis, or TEN, as a side effect of Children’s Motrin. The debilitating skin reaction, which is a more severe version of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, causes the skin to burn from the inside out, producing blisters, severe rashes and often leading to the skin separating from the body. The skin reaction is known to occur as a side effect of several types of medication.

When the skin lesions affect more than 30% of the body, Stevens-Johnson syndrome is referred to as toxic epidermal necrolysis. Treatment in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Burn Unit is often required, and the condition can be fatal or result in debilitating permanent injuries.

Although the jury found that McNeil Consumer Healthcare was negligent for manufacturing an unreasonably dangerous medication with inadequate warnings that proximately caused Robinson’s skin condition, they also found that Robinson was contributorily negligent in causing her own injuries.

Earlier in the litigation, the federal judge in Illinois presiding over the case ruled that Virginia law would apply to the case, since Robinson was a resident of Virginia at the time she suffered the injuries. Under Virginia contributory negligence laws, plaintiffs are barred from recovering any damages if their own negligence is found to play any role in the damages suffered.

Strict contributory negligence laws are rare in the United States, with only Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, North Carolina and the District of Columbia barring recovery if a plaintiff is even 1% at fault. Most states have a modified version, called comparative negligence, which reduces the damages in proportion to the amount of the plaintiff’s own negligence, rather than barring them from receiving any damages at all.

Robinson developed toxic epidermal necrolysis from Children’s Motrin in 2006. The over-the-counter pain and fever medication did contains warnings that it can cause severe skin reactions in rare cases, and warned consumers to stop using the drug immediately and to seek medical attention if they begin to develop skin problems. However, Robinson allegedly did not read the warning, took double doses of the medication and continued to take double doses at least two more times after she noticed the first signs of Stevens-Johnson syndrome.