Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed against Makers of Children's Advil on Behalf of Heather Kiss

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 7, 2005 - Two Dallas law firms, Waters & Kraus and the Law Office of James C. Barber, announced today the parents of a three-year-old girl have filed suit against the makers of over the counter Children's Advil (ibuprofen), claiming their daughter suffered severe side effects and died after taking Children's Advil. The suit was filed Jan. 21, 2005, in the Superior Court of Monmouth County, N.J.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of decedent Heather Kiss of Aberdeen, N.J., seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against New Brunswick, N.J.-based health care giant Wyeth, Inc. d/b/a Wyeth f/k/a American Home Products Corporation; Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, an unincorporated division of Wyeth, f/k/s Whitehall-Robins Healthcare; and Whitehall Laboratories, Inc. ("Wyeth").

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Kiss family by Ron C. Eddins of the Dallas-based law firm Waters & Kraus and James C. Barber, Law Offices of James C. Barber, also of Dallas. Fred Gerson of the law firm D'Allessandro, Jacovino & Gerson located in Florham Park, N.J., will be assisting the Waters & Kraus and James C. Barber law firms.

In their lawsuit, Darlene and Andrew Kiss accuse Wyeth of wrongful death, negligence, defective design, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and failure to warn consumers and doctors of the potential health risks of taking over the counter Children's Advil, specifically the risk of developing two life-threatening and fatal cutaneous disorders -- Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) -- which are typically caused by an adverse reaction to a drug or virus.

Three-year-old Heather was given Children's Advil on or about March 1, 2003, after developing a fever. Heather had no known drug allergies. A week later her fever reoccurred and she developed itchy eyelids and received an additional dose of Children's Advil. Heather then developed a rash on her face and was seen by her pediatrician on March 10.

On March 11, Heather was hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit of Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) in Monmouth County, N.J. Doctors later the same day concluded Heather had contracted SJS, according to the lawsuit. The following day, Heather was transferred from MMC to the burn unit at St. Barnabas Medical Center, where she was treated for severe burns over seventy-percent of her body due to toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). The suit alleges that Children's Advil caused Heather Kiss to develop SJS, resulting in serious and permanently disabling injuries and death on March 17, 2003.

The complaint also alleges the Wyeth companies knew of a connection between the medication and the disorders from their own clinical tests dating back to the late 1980s, but failed to warn physicians and consumers about the increased risks of SJS and TEN. Additionally, Wyeth had cases of SJS that occurred in the study that supported the approval of the OTC Children's Advil, but failed to disclose this to physicians or consumers.

"Heather's suffering from SJS was horrific and unimaginable. Andrew and Darlene want to prevent this tragedy from happening to any more children. They believe the drug should be removed from store shelves or, at a minimum, that Children's Advil should include a warning about the risk of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis," the Kiss family's attorney, Ron Eddins of Waters & Kraus, said.

"Scientific literature has established that SJS and TEN are drug reactions that can be prevented if the offending medication like Children's Advil is stopped before a person develops blisters or sloughing of the skin and proper medical care is instituted," James Barber of the Law Offices of James Barber, the other main attorney representing the Kiss family said. "In fact, one study showed that the mortality rate can be reduced by 30% each day if the drug is discontinued early."

"Our lawsuit contends that this product is unreasonably dangerous as marketed, and is intended to force this drug maker to put a warning on the box and bottle of Children's Advil warning about this life-threatening and potentially fatal drug reaction, specifically to include a warning to consumers that if they develop a rash, mucosal lesions or other recognizable symptoms to stop the drug immediately," Barber said. "This company provides some warnings in Europe, but not in the United States. American children deserve no less protection for the OTC product that is allegedly supposed to relieve fever and pain, but instead can kill them without warning."

The Law Offices of James C. Barber also have extensive experience in litigating cases against drug manufacturers with a unique specialty in representing victims with Stevens - Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. The James C. Barber law firm is located in Dallas.

 The Law Offices of James Barber, Dallas James Barber, 214-821-8840 Fax: 214-821-3834 lojcb@aol.com