Did Johnson & Johnson Cover Up Their Recall?

Oftentimes, products have hidden dangers that are discovered after they've been distributed to the public. On September 21, 2010, an investor filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, claiming that the drug company tried to deceive consumers by covering up a Motrin recall. The product was found to have been contaminated at a Johnson & Johnson plant in Pennsylvania, which was later shut down.

Johnson & Johnson is currently under a criminal investigation due to an alleged, illegal attempt to hide the Motrin recall and avoid an official recall of the product. The drug company hired the pharmaceutical consulting company, Omnicare, and supposedly, conspired with them to conceal the fact that Motrin was being recalled. Johnson & Johnson allegedly had the Omnicare consultants repurchase Motrin off of the shelves instead of directly removing them from stores.

The lawsuit seeks that investors who bought Johnson & Johnson stock between October 2008 and July 2010 obtain class action status. The lawsuit also accuses the drug company of misleading consumers in statements they made not long before divulging the recall information.

In April, an earlier recall was made for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, for several children's medications, including Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl. In total, the recall affected 136 million bottles of medication and led to the suspension of production of McNeil's children's medications. Johnson & Johnson denies the allegations they are facing, and says the FDA was completely informed of the recall.

Fortunately for consumers, product liability law exists. Product liability law is there to protect consumers who have used products that were defective or that had risks associated with them that were not fully communicated. If you are the victim of using a defective product, a product liability lawyer can help. The Rasansky Law Firm handles product liability cases, and can look into your case.