Mental Health
Children's Motrin $63 Million Suit, Parents Open Up: Report
A Plymouth, Mass. Family has been award $63 million from drug company Johnson & Johnson after their 7-year old daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction from Children's Motrin 10 years ago and now the parents are speaking out about their ordeal.
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Lisa and Richard Reckis, spoke about the ordeal how their daughter Samantha is doing now and how they feel about the verdict from the trial.
Samantha Reckis, was 7 years old when she took the ibuprofen medicine and unfortunately suffered a rare side effect known as toxic epidermal necrolysis. This resulted in Reckis losing 90 percent of her skin and was blinded.
Reckis and her parents are set to receive a total of $109 million, including interest, from Johnson & Johnson and its McNeil-PPC Inc. subsidiary, a Plymouth Superior Court jury decided on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Lisa and Richard say that Samantha, now 16 and an honor roll student despite six brain surgeries and dozens of other operations, is positive and an upbeat girl.
"She has to work twice as hard as other students to keep up her grades," says her mother. "She just wants a normal life." Once she finishes school, she plans on studying nursing after being inspired by what her doctors and nurses helped her. "She wants to help other people, especially children," her mother said.
It all began in 2003 when Samantha took Children's Motrin the day after Thanksgiving 2003 in an attempt to reduce a fever she was having. However, the medicine inflamed Samantha's throat, mouth, eyes, esophagus, intestinal tract, respiratory system and reproductive system, forcing physicians to put her in a coma. She had previously taken Motrin without suffering any side effects.
In 2011, Johnson & Johnson recalled 12 million bottles of Motrin after finding that "some caplets may not dissolve as quickly as intended when nearing their expiration date."
Richard shared how he feels the responsibility for his daughters suffering as he was the one who first gave Samantha the Children's Motrin for a fever.
"Do I feel it was my fault? No," he says. "But do I blame myself every day? Sure I do."
He remains angry at Johnson & Johnson, which issued a statement saying that although it sympathizes with the Reckis family, it disagrees with the verdict and is considering its legal options.
"I tell you what really bothers me," says Richard. "Not one time did anyone pick up the phone or come down here and say, 'We're sorry' to my daughter. I'd like them to sit here, and look her in the eye, and say they're sorry."
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