Lawsuit claims the Johnson & Johnson Co. issued a "phantom or stealth recall" of tainted Children's Tylenol.
Philadelphia - In a scorching complaint that cites internal company memos, parents say their child died because Johnson & Johnson issued a "phantom or stealth recall" of tainted Children's Tylenol, buying up the drugs from stores on the sly without issuing a recall, "so the general public, ignorant of the dangers, would continue buying and administering these brand name drugs to their children."
Daniel and Katy Moore say their 2-year-old son River died of liver failure in July 2010, the day after he took Children's Tylenol.
They sued Johnson & Johnson, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Costco and a long list of others in the chain of supply and distribution, and third-party contractors who allegedly bought up the over-the-counter drugs in the "phantom recall."
River's parents claim Johnson & Johnson and its McNeil subsidiary hired contractors to secretly go into stores that stocked the tainted products, buy up all the products and not mention the recall to anyone.
"This clandestine phantom/stealth recall was done without notification to the customers or the retailers to avoid the public shame, the financial impact and regulatory ramifications of a formal recall," the complaint states.
It continues: "the purpose of the phantom/stealth recall is evidenced in an internal email in which a McNeil executive said, 'We are just trying to prevent a recall and a lot of expended dollars.'
"In another email, a McNeil executive described the success of the phantom/stealth recall by saying, 'This was a major win for us as it limits the press that will be seen.'
"J&J and McNeil directed their third-party contractors, including Inmar Inc., WIS International, and CSCS, not to discuss their purchases as being a recall of the product.
"Indeed, J&J's specific instructions to the contractors hired to perform the phantom recall indicated that they were to 'quickly enter each store, find ALL of the Motrin product described, make the purchase transaction, secure the receipt, and leave ... THERE MUST BE NO MENTION OF THIS BEING A RECALL OF THE PRODUCT!
'http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/04/42739.htm
Court Filing: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/04/Tylenol.pdf