The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

Documents provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, ignored federal regulators when they staged a phantom recall of defective Motrin products during July 2009. The pharmaceutical company hired contractors to purchase up large quantities of the defective drug as if they were consumers. In this way, they were able to remove all of the defective Motrin products from store shelves without announcing an official recall, which would have garnered considerable amounts of negative press.

The phantom recall involved defective Motrin caplets which did not dissolve properly, potentially causing adverse side effects.

While the FDA lacks the authority to require companies to initiate product recalls, the organization stated that based on the evidence available, these Motrin caplets would have warranted a Class 2 recall, which covers defective products which may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, but have a remote chance of causing serious adverse health consequences.

However, earlier this week, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform divulged documents indicating the FDA may have known about and approved McNeil's phantom Motrin recall. The FDA has denied these allegations and insists that as soon as they discovered McNeil's plan to covertly remove the defective Motrin products from store shelves, they prompted the pharmaceutical company to initiate an official recall. As a result of the tactics used throughout the process, Johnson & Johnson was able to avoid issuing a press release about the recall, preventing many consumers from becoming aware of the recall altogether.

Time will tell whether the FDA was aware of and approved the phantom recall in advance. Regardless, it seems that Johnson & Johnson clearly went to great lengths to avoid following proper recall protocol in this situation.

If you have suffered an injury from taking the defective Motrin caplets, the please contact the experienced defective product attorneys at The Cochran Firm today to schedule your free initial consultation. We serve clients nationwide.