McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced this week that it was voluntarily recalling retail and wholesale level lots of Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps, Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Rapid Release Day/Night 12+8 Gelcaps, and Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Rapid Release Day/Night 36+24 Gelcaps.

The recall was announced as a precautionary measure after McNeil learned that through product sample monitoring that there were elevated levels of Chlorpheniramine Ammonio Acetate (CPAA), a compound contained in some Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps.

CPAA is formed from the combination of two ingredients in the medication, and while certain levels of the compound are to be expected an elevated level is not acceptable. There have been a number of recalls involving Johnson & Johnson Tylenol products in recent months, most times involving reports of medications having a musty, moldy odor that was linked to the presence of trace amounts of a chemical known as 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) used in J&J packing materials.    

In addition to the recent string of Tylenol recalls, the acetaminophen medication has also been linked to cases of serious liver damage in some patients who accidentally overdose. In these cases. If you or a loved one has suffered an accidental acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of a Tylenol product that has injured your liver, speak to one of our acetaminophen attorneys to see if you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

The dosage reduction, which will be in place by this fall, will recommend on all Extra Strength Tylenol bottles that users only take a maximum of six pills (containing 3,000 mg of acetaminophen) every day. The current maximum dosage listed on bottles recommends eight pills (or 4,000 mg of acetaminophen) every day.

J&J also announced that McNeil would be lowering the maximum daily dose for its Regular Strength Tylenol products, as well as “other adult acetaminophen-containing products,” in 2012 but did not provide any additional specifics.

“Some people accidentally exceed the recommended dose when taking multiple products at the same time, often without realizing they contain acetaminophen or by not reading and following the dosing instruction,” said Dr. Edwin Kuffner, the vice president of OTC Medical Affairs and Clinical Research at McNeil. “McNeil is revising its labels for products containing acetaminophen in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of accidental overdosing in those instances.”

Dr. William M. Lee, a professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, told ABC News that Johnson & Johnson had taken “a prudent first step” towards finally protecting its customers from acetaminophen overdoses, which can cause serious damage to the liver, including liver failure.

“Industry is coming around,” Lee said. “But there’s still a big problem. Lots of people are still overdosing.”

While their move is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, it’s hard not to see their decision to reduce the acetaminophen dosage as an admission that their product has been harmful to its customers. Hopefully the move will cut into the 56,000 Americans who suffer liver failure from acetaminophen overdoses every year.

If you or a loved one has suffered an accidental acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of a Tylenol product that has injured your liver, speak to one of our acetaminophen attorneys to see if you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

On June 28 McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced a recall of 60,912 bottles of 225-pill-count Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets. As has been the case with a number of recent recalls initiated by Tylenol’s manufacturer, the recall was announced after reports of an “uncharacteristic, musty, moldy odor” emanating from some of the bottles.

The odor has been linked to the presence of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, a chemical that McNeil/Johnson & Johnson formerly used to treat wood pellets that were used for shipping.

This is hardly the first recall to be announced because of the musty odor caused by the chemical. In March, 34,056 bottles of Tylenol 8-Hour Extended Release Caplets that were produced at a Fort Washington, PA plant were ordered off the shelves immediately due to the musty odor.

Just last week, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals – which is also related to McNeil – announced that it had recalled an entire lot of Risperdal® (risperidone) 3mg tablets from the market after learning of a similar odor.

In addition to any health risks that could be caused by these odors, Tylenol products also carry a risk of an acetaminophen overdose if too many pills are taken in too short a time span. If you were harmed by Tylenol, you may have a Tylenol liver failure lawsuit. Contact Sokolove Law today, one of our acetaminophen attorneys at Sokolove Law may be able to help.

This month, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals announced that it had recalled an entire lot of Risperdal® (risperidone) 3mg tablets from the market after learning that an “uncharacteristic odor” had been reported in some bottles.

The smell is thought to be caused by 2,4,6 tribromoanisole (or TBA), a chemical preservative that is used to treat wood pellets that many Johnson & Johnson products used to be transported in. After initial reports of the musty odor, the company began taking steps to stop using the pellets in January.

“[We conducted an investigation that] revealed that some of the wooden pallets used by one of our suppliers in its warehouse were contaminated with TBA,” read a statement from the pharma company.  “In addition, some of the packaging components manufactured by our supplier were exposed to these pallets.”

Risperdal is used either alone or with other medications to treat schizophrenia and short-term bipolar mania in children and adults, as well as irritability associated with autistic disorder in children and adolescents ages 5-16 years.

The recall applies to the lot containing 40,000 bottles total; 16,000 Risperdal 3mg Bottles of 60 Tablets that expire in May 2012 and 24,000 Risperidone 2mg Bottles of 60 Tablets that expire in August 2012. The company believes there are currently 1,600 bottles of Risperdal and fewer than 1,200 bottles of risperidone from this lot remaining in the marketplace. 

Recalls have become a somewhat regular occurrence for J&J in the last year, as the company has had to deal with issues regarding a number of their products. In addition to its odor problems, its acetaminophen medication Tylenol has been linked as a cause of serious liver damage in certain situations.

If an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol has injured your liver, or the liver of someone you love, you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit that one of our Tylenol attorneys may be able to help you with.

When Brianna Maya was three years old, she was given Children’s Motrin – the junior strength version of the pain reliever that is manufactured by J&J – after coming down with a fever and a cough.

However, instead of treating the symptoms the medications led to burns on more than 84 percent of her body as well as the blinding of her left eye.

The injuries were caused by the onset of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a rare and serious disorder where the body’s skin and mucous membranes react to a medication or infection and develop rashes and blisters on the skin and cause it to eventually shed off and die.

 Maya and her family alleged that J&J was liable for the injuries and did not have adequate warnings on the medication’s label. After 10 hours of deliberation, the jury agreed.

Motrin is not the first medication manufactured by Johnson & Johnson that has been found to be extremely dangerous to some of the individuals who rely on it for care. Tylenol, an acetaminophen pain reliever made by J&J, has been found to cause catastrophic liver damage in some patients. If an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol has injured your liver, or the liver of someone you love, you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

According to a Reuters report, a research team from the Seattle-based Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center conducted a study in which 65,000 older men and women who lived in Washington, had no history of cancer in their family (except for skin cancer), and were open about any painkillers or analgesics they had used in the last ten years had their medical history followed.

By the time the study concluded, 577 people – less than one percent of the group – had developed some type of hematologic (blood) cancer. However, of those who developed a cancer, nine percent reported that they regularly used acetaminophen. In comparison, only five percent of the group that did not get sick said they used similar amounts of acetaminophen.

“A person who is age 50 or older has about a 1 percent risk in ten years of getting one of these cancers,” said Emily White, a member o the research team. “Our study suggests that if you use acetaminophen at least four times a week for at least four years, that would increase the risk to about 2 percent.”

The study also found that no other analgesics – such as aspirin or ibuprofen – were tied to similar increases in risk of developing blood cancers. The study is currently in its final stages of confirmation.

In addition to this new link between acetaminophen and blood cancer, it has already been well documented that an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol can lead to serious injuries to one’s liver. If you or someone you love has sustained liver damage due to ingesting Tylenol products, you may be able to pursue a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit. Speak to an acetaminophen injury lawyer at Sokolove Law to learn more about your legal options.

The recall, which was announced with cooperation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 14, applied to two lots of Topamax (topiramate) 100mg tablets that had been shipped between October 19 and December 28, 2010. The two lots carried expiration dates of 06/2012 and 09/2012 respectively.

The two lots combined to total nearly 57,000 bottles of Topamax. However, McNeil (Johnson & Johnson’s parent company) believed that fewer than 6,000 bottles are still on store shelves.

Similar to the Tylenol recall, the Topamax recall was spurred by reports of a musky odor in the bottles that was linked to the presence of TBA (2,4,6 tribromoanisole), a chemical preservative used to treat wood pallets that are used to transport and store cases of the drug. Four consumer reports complaining of the odor, and the risk of TBA contamination, in the bottles prompted the bottles to be taken off store shelves.

Topamax is used primarily to prevent seizures in epileptic adults. The drug has come under scrutiny of late because of studies that indicate an increased risk of women who take the drug while pregnant giving birth to children with a cleft lip or cleft palate.

Tylenol is another Johnson & Johnson medication that, despite the benefits it can provide, has also been found to increase the risk of potentially deadly side effects. Individuals who take more than the recommended dosage run the risk of suffering an acetaminophen overdose that can cause catastrophic damage to their liver. If an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol has injured your liver, or the liver of someone you love, you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

Earlier this month, J&J agreed to pay a total penalty of $70 million for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The violations occurred through a number of J&J subsidiaries who bribed publicly-employed health care providers in Greece, Poland and Romania so they would purchase medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

The bribes, which were reportedly common knowledge in many J&J circles, were considered to be important regarding the success of some products. According to the New York Times, a criminal complaint filed with the DOJ estimated that business would drop by 95 percent if the company stopped paying bribes to doctors in Greece.

In addition to the bribery penalties, the DOJ also announced that J&J had reached a settlement SEC and would pay a penalty for disgorgement of profits and pre-judgment interest.

Johnson & Johnson is also the manufacturer of Tylenol, an acetaminophen pain reliever that has been found to cause serious damage to the liver in the event of an overdose. If an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol has injured your liver, or the liver of someone you love, you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a unit of J&J, announced this week that 34,056 bottles of its Tylenol 8-Hour Extended Release Caplets that were produced at a Fort Washington, PA plant would be immediately taken off shelves due to the musty odor. The odor is thought to be caused by small amounts of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that the company used to use while shipping its products.

The Fort Washington plant was closed last April.

Along with the Tylenol announcement, J&J also said it would be expanding recalls announced back in January regarding other Tylenol products as well as Benadryl, Sudafed and Rolaids for similar reports of musty odor. While 47 million packets were initially recalled in January, 717,000 additional packets were taken off shelves this week.

In addition to its mounting recall problems, J&J has also dealt with its fair share of issues regarding medical issues in customers that are brought on by acetaminophen overdoses. If an acetaminophen overdose triggered by the use of Tylenol, or any other J&J product, has injured you or someone you love, you may have a Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.

The recall, which was announced by Qualitest (and with the knowledge of the FDA) on February 5, affects three different lot numbers of Hydrocodone Bitartrate/Acetaminophen Tablets, as well as three lots of Phenobarbital Tablets that were distributed between September 21 and December 29, 2010.

The medications were ordered off the shelves when it was discovered that an individual bottle of the Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Tablets was found incorrectly labeled with a Phenobarbital tablets label. The revelation raised fears that patients may accidentally take the hydrocodone/acetaminophen pills while intending to take the Phenobarbital instead.

Unintentionally taking additional acetaminophen medications after previously taking other drugs containing the pain reliever, such as Tylenol products, could result in liver toxicity or an accidental overdose. Individuals who mix acetaminophen with more than three daily alcoholic beverages also risk liver dysfunction.

If you or a loved one have accidentally ingested too much acetaminophen using Tylenol products that led to an overdose and the liver damage that can result, contact us to see if you have grounds for an acetaminophen or Tylenol liver damage lawsuit.