Jurors Debate the Outcome of Botox Death Case in California

Santa Ana, CAThe jury has moved into deliberation over a lawsuit that claims that Botox injections caused the death of a seven-year old girl with cerebral palsy.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Kristen Spears died in November 2007 after receiving seven Botox injections over a period of 17 months to ease her leg spasms. Spears' parents allege that the injections were responsible for the ensuing respiratory failure and pneumonia that later claimed Kristen's life.

The Spears family and 14 other plaintiffs are pursuing a $60 million lawsuit against Allergan, the maker of the drug, charging that the company failed to warn doctors of the dangers of Botox in doses larger than those used for cosmetic purposes, citing a confidential Allergan document that claims that the maximum safe dose of Botox is eight units per kilogram.

The company has regularly funded training sessions that advocate doses of 15 units per kilogram, according to the Orange County Register.

"Why put it into a confidential document and not tell any doctors in the United States? There's only one reason I can think of - to protect sales, to protect profits," said the Spears' attorney, Ray Chester.