Malibu, Calif. – A California girl was blinded and scarred by an allergic reaction to Children's Motrin and the company "purposefully and callously" hid from federal regulators medical reports on the dangers of ibuprofen, a lawyer for the girl's family said Tuesday.
"Sabrina went blind, needlessly blind" as a result of a rare allergic reaction to Motrin's active ingredient, ibuprofen, Daniel Balaban told the Malibu jury in opening arguments of the product-liability lawsuit.
A Johnson & Johnson attorney countered that the over-the-counter pain reliever cannot be proven to have caused the rare reaction, MyFOXLosAngeles.com reported.
Sabrina Johnson of Topanga Canyon, Calif., was 6 in 2003 when her parents gave her three doses of Motrin over two days to fight a mild fever. After noticing a rash had begun to develop, her mother gave her another dose, Balaban said.
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Many other popular brands of medication contain ibuprofen, including Advil, Nuprin, PediaCare Fever and Medipren.
Her parents never would have given the girl more Motrin if the drug label had contained warnings that in rare circumstances life-threatening allergies can develop, he said.
Photos of the child with lesions on her lips and eyes, taken during a two-week hospital stay, were displayed as her attorneys laid out their case against the company.
The girl supposedly suffered chemical burns on her mucous membranes that are painful and, even though she is blind, bright light causes her pain.
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