Posted July 23rd, 2011 in Top Stories

Defense Verdict for Johnson & Johnson in Antibiotic Case

The Nilan Johnson Lewis team, led by shareholder Tracy J. Van Steenburgh, helped secure a defense verdict in Minnesota federal court on June 17, 2011, for Defendants Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in a case involving the companies’ antibiotic Levaquin®.  Plaintiff Calvin Christensen said he ruptured his right Achilles tendon after taking Levaquin while hospitalized for pneumonia in 2006.

Christensen had sued the companies, claiming that the companies failed to warn his prescribing physician about the potential risks associated with Levaquin and failed to include a warning about the risk of tendon injuries with Levaquin in comparison with other antibiotics in the same class.  The 12-person jury unanimously rejected those claims and found that the companies had properly warned of the potential risks posed by Levaquin.