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Child Medicines Taken Off the Shelves
Posted on May 12, 2011
Johnson & Johnson has announced that they will be discontinuing their line of kids' cold and fever medicine amid concerns about dosage confusions. They are just one of several over-the-counter medication companies with have agreed to completely phase out the products by the end of the year.
As an Arlington personal injury attorney I typically take a rather cynical view whenever a company recalls a product they've already unleashed on the marketplace - particularly when it's aimed at children - but this case is special because the drug makers aren't admitting that their medicines are dangerous in and of themselves; rather that there is a high risk of overdose if parents do not follow the instructions.
The ingredient which is causing this sudden concern is a pain reliever called acetaminophen (also found in Tylenol, Nyquil and countless other products). While generally regarded to be safe when used as directed, acetaminophen is the leading cause of liver failure in the US and is believed to send more than 50,000 people to the ER each year. The drug companies, which also include Novartis and Procter & Gamble, plan on replacing their various products with just one single formula for all children under 12 in the hope that the uniformity will help ease these dosage problems. I'm sure this mass action wasn't at all prompted by the meeting called for by the FDA which will take place later this month to discuss whether additional safety labeling and instructions are necessary for acetaminophen products.
Situations like these always leave me frustrated both at the companies manufacturing and supplying the products, but also with the government themselves for not implementing tighter regulations upfront.
Mark Anderson is a board certified personal injury trial lawyer who has been helping people across the Dallas-Fort Worth region for 20 years. If you or a loved one have suffered injury because of someone else's negligence, call Mark for a free, no obligation consultation on your personal situation to understand your legal rights. Call oat 817-294-1900 or 214-327-8000.
