MALIBU -- Jurors in the $1 billion Motrin lawsuit have decided that Johnson & Johnson is not liable for damages suffered by 11-year-old Topanga Canyon girl who claims she was blinded by Children's Motrin in 2003.
"There will be no award," a disappointed plaintiff attorney, Browne Greene, said.
Although jurors found for the plaintiffs in seven of eight questions, on the ninth question they decided it was not proved that Motrin caused the girl's injury.
Corporate responsibility is the major theme of the $1 billion claim made by the Johnsons, whose lawyers contend that Children's Motrin triggered an extremely rare, nearly fatal allergic reaction in the first-grader that caused chemical-type burns in her eyes, mouth and other mucous membranes, eventually blinding her.
The company, facing similar allegations stemming from about 60 cases of the reaction -- ironically called Stevens-Johnson syndrome -- among the billions of doses of Motrin sold annually, has fought back with a message that Motrin is safe and effective.
Company attorneys claim that Sabrina Johnson's illness was not caused by the widely used drug, and that the package labels were federally approved and had adequate warnings.
Lawyers representing the 11-year-old girl said her Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a painful illness that makes the inside of a her eyelids feel as if they are made of sandpaper.
During the trial, Sabrina testified that she spent months living inside a large cardboard box during daylight hours to keep her eyes from erupting in pain.
But doctors testified that there is a one-in-a-million chance of a person who takes ibuprofen having a severe allergic reaction.
Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Laboratories insisted that ibuprofen in general and Motrin in particular are safe and effective, and are used billions of times a year for pain relief.
Sabrina Johnson's family is asking for $14 million in actual damages and $103 million for the girl's and the family's pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages of $950 million.
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SADLY I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THE JUDGE. DRUGS COME WITH WARNINGS. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE WHO IS ALLERGIC TO A DRUG. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE. EVERYONE'S BODY IS DIFFERENT. 60 CASES OUT OF BILLIONS OF USES? IT IS SAD THAT THE CHILD IS SUFFERING, AND I HOPE THE DOCS CAN DO SOMETHING TO EASE HER PAIN. BUT THE DRUG COMPANY IS NOT AT FAULT. HER BODY'S CHEMICAL MAKE UP IS.
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