Family Getting $63 Million for Medicine That Blinded Daughter

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The Boston Globe has a report on the case of the Reckis family, whose daughter Samantha suffered a severe allergic reaction to Children’s Motrin (the pain reliever, ibuprofen) a decade ago.

She’s now 17, legally blind, and unable to walk more than the length of a football field without becoming physically exhausted. But she’ll now likely receive $50 million (and each of her parents, $6.5 million) from Johnson & Johnson, the company who made the product.

A jury recently found the company didn’t properly warn about potential side effects on the over-the-counter version, and was therefore responsible for Reckis’ Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. It’s a rare, but often deadly or permanently damaging, reaction to certain medications.

According to the article, the verdict must be upheld by a trial judge. If it is, and interest from the lengthy delay is included, the award could be worth over $100 million.

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