Jury selection started last week in a products liability suit brought by Christopher Trejo, 22, who alleges he contracted Stevens Johnson Syndrome from Motrin. The lawsuit was filed against Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, and McKesson Corp. McNeil, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, made, sold, and distributed Motrin; McKesson—according to Trejo’s papers—distributed Motrin in California, wrote the Beverly Hills Courier.
Stevens Johnson Syndrome is a severe sensitivity reaction that can be caused by a number of drugs and leaves the patient with blistering of mucous membranes, especially of the mouth, eyes, and vagina as well as patchy rashes that cause skin peeling. The condition can spread to internal organs and can cause scarring and blindness. When over 30 percent of the body is impacted, the condition becomes toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).
Both Stevens Johnson Syndrome and TEN typically call for hospital burn unit treatment. Trejo, 16 at the time he fell ill, seeks compensatory and punitive damages and claims, said the Beverly Hills Courier citing court papers, that the defendants put an “emphasis on corporate profits at the expense of the health and safety of consumers” by not putting known drug risks on the Motrin label.
The lawsuit alleges that Trejo was reasonably healthy when he took Motrin he purchased in the U.S. for a fever he developed while in Honduras in 2005. “Christopher carefully read the label on the drug’s bottle for any warnings and adverse side effects,” say Trejo’s court papers. “Relying on the drug’s label, Christopher continued taking the medication as instructed,” the papers continued.
Within days, Trejo felt bloody bumps in his mouth, his eyes reddened, he suffered from skin lesions in his mouth, face, abdomen, and genitalia; more than half his body was covered in blisters. Trejo was hospitalized in Honduras where he was diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome and soon, TEN.
“By the fourth day of hospitalization, 100 percent of Christopher’s body surface was damaged as his skin began to literally detach from all over his body, including the bottoms of his feet, the palms of his hands and his fingernails,” court papers state.
NewsInferno recently wrote that the family of a young girl was awarded $10 million after she developed Stevens Johnson Syndrome after taking Children’s Motrin (ibuprofen).
NewsInferno also previously reported that Johnson & Johnson and McNeil added warnings about “severe allergic reactions” which could present with “rashes and blisters,” to over-the-counter (OTC) ibuprofen products, but no mention of Stevens Johnson Syndrome is made.