Trejo

*116 After taking Motrin, an over-the-counter ibuprofen medication manufactured and sold by McNeil Consumer Healthcare (McNeil), plaintiff Christopher Trejo suffered a reaction in the form of a rare skin disease, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, and the more severe variant, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (collectively SJS/TEN) . 1 He sued McNeil and its corporate parent, Johnson & Johnson, on various theories of products liability, four *117 of which went to trial: strict liability failure to warn and negligent failure to warn, based on defendants' failure to include the symptoms of SJS/TEN (skin reddening, rash, and blisters) on Motrin's warning label, and strict liability design defect and negligent design defect, based on McNeil's failure to sell an allegedly safer product, dexibuprofen (an isomer or component of ibuprofen ) rather than ibuoprofen.

Returning a special verdict, the jury found McNeil liable for negligent failure to warn (but not for strict liability failure to warn), negligent design defect, and strict liability design defect under the consumer *134 expectation test (but not under the risk-benefit test). The jury found Johnson & Johnson liable for strict liability design…