The family of a Plymouth-area girl who nearly died and was left legally blind after taking one of the country’s most common household medicines, Children’s Motrin, was awarded $63 million Wednesday by a Massachusetts jury that found health care giant Johnson & Johnson failed to warn patients adequately about the painkiller’s potential side effects.
The family of Samantha Reckis, who was 7 at the time she suffered the severe reaction, said the verdict by a Plymouth County jury was a “historic day for consumer safety.” The unusually large award still needs the approval of the trial judge in the case.
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Of course I feel for the family and they should receive fair compensation. I'd want someone's head on a plate too but the $63m award in this case screams for Tort Reform. The downstream effects of having J&J pay that out will be realized in higher consumer costs and the insurance companies will use this as a crowbar to support their liability premiums. The Lawyers make blood money too. I don't know if J&J can take a charge against earnings thus reducing their tax payment but the consumer ultimately gets nailed. So J&J will update the warning lable and data sheet that almost no one reads. That's swell.
I'm not heartless but a $63m payment sends no message and fixes almost nothing.
The shareholders will take the jolt for this, not consumers. I'm sure they already charge whatever the market will bear for their products. Of course, through mutual funds, lots of those shareholders will be ordinary people's pension funds.
Corporations are not people. They don't have morals or feelings. Their one obligation is to make money for shareholders (and even this they often fail to do on order to give high compensation to senior managers).
The only way to get them to change their behavior is to cost them money.
Kate, you are correct. The Shareholders do get some level of pain but ultimately, don't we all feel it in the form of higher prices due to costs incurred, payment of the gross amount and subsequent liability increases in J&J's insurance which net out to increased product costs? I can't imagine what the total cost was from the date of notice to the end date. LeoTheLion4 may be able to take an educated SWAG at it.
I just don't see what's so difficult about adding language about this rare side effect into the label. That would have protected J&J, and while it probably wouldn't have stopped this little girl's parents from giving it to her, possibly after she started having the reaction they would have read the label, recognized it and stopped the medication in time for her to avoid the worst effects.
They are afraid it would stop you buying the product in the first place.
This verdict is excessive and the award should be reduced by the judge. What ever happend to the concept of "accident"? Not everything tragic involves fault. And I speak as a father who has buried a child, and as a trial lawyer.
No "accident". They knew beforehand of a possible reaction but withheld info, keeping it off the label. Read the article next time.
"The current label for ibuprofen products including Children’s Motrin carries the FDA recommended warning that the medicine may cause “a severe allergic reaction,” with symptoms that can include hives, facial swelling, rash, and blisters."
The award is absurd and will, no doubt, be significantly reduced on appeal. Unless, of course, J&J decides to settle to avoid the bad publicity, which was probably the objective of the plaintiffs and their lawyers in the first place.
so you're saying the girls pain is overpayed...I think no amount can repay what she had to go through
While this is an exceptionally sad case, and, as a parent, I would want justice and punitive damages as well, this seems a bit excessive to me. And doubt that it will do any good. The only good to come of this is that these potential side effects will become better known after a story like this. That's the upside... but this sort of award seems almost absurd.
Exactly. Years ago the company I worked for was drawn into a breast cancer mal-practice case. The odd thing was that the facility/MD who ended up losing the case didn't even have our technology until AFTER the misdiagnosis. We were released from claims but it still cost our company a bunch of money and we had some PR damage as well. The case was in MA and ended up being settled for over $10m. Despite the clear fact that the mass wasn't visible on the prior exams and was marginally visible on her last exam, the lawyers dragged her poor kids in front of the jury and it was all over for the MD.
I hope the decision is upheld. This was no accident; J&J knew the possible side effects and hid that info to consumers. This poor young woman has suffered for 10 years! She cannot have the life she should have had; here she is 16 - think what that must be like. Her life has been and will always be extremely expensive, and with the money, at least she will be able to afford to live as normally and comfortably as is possible.
you wonder why we have difficulties finding doctors. How many people have performed flawlessly throughout their working lives with no mistakes ever? were you sued for millions for your mistakes? Bankers get millions in bonuses when they mess up but doctors get sued. all this reckless habit of suing people disuades people from taking medical cases, discovering drugs etc?
how would people feel if there were no over the counter pain killers? its not parents who diagnose rare medical conditions its doctors and they already knew about this issue. this is insane.
I hope this family knows about Dr. Perry Rosenthal's nonprofit organization, the Boston Foundation for Sight, that is a world leader in the treatment of complex corneal disese, research and education. They treat patients in Needham who have sight limitations due to Stephen Johnson's Syndrome. The BFS care team provides compassionate care and the gift of sight to their patients. They are working to establish treatment centers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Their contact information is available at www.bostonsight.org. Perhaps this family and others will donate some money to this worthwhile organization to help people like their daughter who have been affected by reactions to taking Motrin or other circumstances resulting in corneal disease. I can give personal testiment as to their successes and give wholehearted support to their mission.