Browne Greene Will Give Opening Statement on Friday Morning in Children's Motrin Product Liability Trial.

Greene Broillet & Wheeler,LLP:

WHAT: Browne Greene will give his Opening Statement on Friday, June 13, 2008 at 9:00 AM in 11-year old Sabrina Brierton Johnson's Children's Motrin product liability lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) at the courthouse in Malibu, CA. Her case is the first to be tried against Johnson & Johnson claiming that an allergic reaction (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome) to taking Children's Motrin in 2003 caused her to become blind among other serious injuries. McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of McNeil-PPC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), is a co-defendant in the case.

The trial began June 5, 2008 and is expected to last six-weeks. The case is being heard before the Hon. Cesar C. Sarmiento, Los Angeles Superior Court/West District, Malibu Courthouse, Department W, 23525 Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA. 90265. Sabrina Brierton Johnson vs. Johnson & Johnson, et. al., Case Number TC 018540.

WHO: Topanga, CA. resident Sabrina Brierton Johnson (then age-six) came home from school on September 8, 2003 complaining of a fever and was given Children's Motrin by her parents in accordance with the materials and instructions included with the drug. The next morning, she awoke with a high fever, a pink color in her eyes, and red lips covered in sores and was seen by her pediatrician. She was immediately hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. with a high fever, redness of the sclera (white of the eye), sore throat and a rash covering her back, trunk and lower pelvis.

By September 10, 2003, per the complaint, Sabrina was blind in both eyes, and was subsequently diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome resulting from ingesting the Children's Motrin. Since then, Sabrina has undergone more than 20 surgical procedures and countless hospitalizations as a result of the injuries she suffered from ingesting Children's Motrin, and she is legally blind.

She filed suit on December 28, 2004 for strict product liability, negligence and personal injury, and seeks punitive damages. Sabrina's parents, Kenneth and Joan Brierton Johnson, are acting as her guardians ad litem. Miss Johnson is represented by Browne Greene and Alan Van Gelder with the Santa Monica, CA. law firm of Greene Broillet & Wheeler (http://www.greene-broillet.com) and Daniel Balaban with the Law Offices of Brian Witzer in West Hollywood, CA.

As a prescription-only drug, Children's Motrin carried a warning about Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) on its package insert. Sabrina alleges that Defendants were put on notice about the serious side-effects of Children's Motrin, including SJS, by the scientific community, by numerous adverse event reports that were coming in directly to McNeil about the drug, and that, in fact, Defendants were warning about its dangers in other countries such as Canada and Germany. She further alleges that in the 1990s, when McNeil petitioned the FDA for approval to have Children's Motrin sold over-the-counter (OTC) that it failed to provide the FDA information about the dangers of Ibuprofen found in a major pediatric clinical study of the drug (Boston University Fever Study).

In 1995, Children's Motrin was approved by the FDA for OTC sale to consumers, but it did not carry any warning about the risk of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. The Plaintiff further contends that despite promising to conduct an investigation into the dangers of Children's Motrin, the Defendants did nothing until forced by the FDA to make labeling changes to Children's Motrin in 2006.

WHEN:
Friday, June 13, 2008 at 9:00 AM.

WHERE:
The Hon. Cesar C. Sarmiento
Malibu Courthouse, Department W
23525 Civic Center Way, Malibu, CA. 90265

Editor's Note #1

Plaintiff Sabrina Brierton Johnson is represented by Browne Greene and Alan Van Gelder with the Santa Monica, CA. law firm of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP (http://www.greene-broillet.com), Tel: [phone]; and Daniel Balaban with the Law Offices of Brian Witzer in West Hollywood, CA.

Defendants Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals are represented by Charles E. Preuss and Thomas W. Pulliam, Jr., with the San Francisco, CA. law firm of Drinker Biddle, Tel: [phone]; and Christy D. Jones with the Jackson, MS law firm of Butler Snow; Tel: [phone].

Editor's Note #2

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a potentially devastating allergic reaction to Ibuprofen that can result in serious gastrointestinal problems, blindness or death. More information about Stevens-Johnson Syndrome can be found at http://www.sjsupport.org or http://www.freewebs.com/sjskidssupport/

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and is sold over-the-counter under such brand names as: Children's Motrin, Motrin, Advil, Genpril, Haltran, Medipren, Midol 200, Nuprin and PediaProfen.