Johnson & Johnson (the makers of Tylenol and Motrin that have been linked to Stevens-Johnson syndrome) agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice on April 8, 2011, after the company was charged with bribing European doctors and paying out kickbacks so that they could get contracts to Iraq under the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Program. The SEC said that what the company did was in direct violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The settlement helps the company avoid criminal and civil charges.

The charges laid against Johnson & Johnson alleged that the company was bribing foreign doctors in various countries into prescribing its drugs and other medical devices. The SEC alleged that from 1998 all the way up to 2006, the company was paying doctors in Greece to use its implants. From 2000-2006 it paid Polish doctors and hospital administrators in order to get contracts, and that it bribed Romanian doctors to prescribe its drugs.

Johnson & Johnson also has been charged with paying kickbacks from 2000-2003 to Iraq so that they could get the 19 contracts under the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Program. The company did not admit guilt but did agree to pay the SEC $48.6 million as well as a $21.4 million fine to the Justice Department.

Johnson & Johnson has suffered a lot of bad press for its popular OTC drugs Tylenol and Motrin amid many lawsuit filings claiming that the drugs cause Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and potentially deadly skin disease. If you or a loved one has suffered from Stevens-Johnson syndrome or its more lethal form, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, after taking Tylenol or Motrin in its adult or children’s formula, contact attorney Greg Jones today. I am an experienced SJS lawyer who will fight hard to get you compensated for your pain and suffering.