CHICAGO -- At least four multi-million dollar lawsuits have been filed because of the deaths of seven area residents who took cyanide-laced capsules of Extra-Strength Tylenol.
Three of the suits were filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court. The fourth was filed earlier in the week.
Two of the latest suits were filed by the fathers of Stanley and Theresa Janus, newlyweds who died last week after swallowing capsules of the pain-reliever that had been emptied and refilled with cyanide.
The third suit was a class action filed on behalf of Merle Kirsner of Highland Park, Ill., woman and consumers nationwide seeking 'fair and equitable damages' including reimbursement for the price of all Tylenol products disposed of in the wake of bans issued for the pain reliever.
Tadeus Janus, the father of Stanley, 25, and John Tarasewicz, the father of Theresa, 19, each filed a $10 million suit against Tylenol-maker McNeil Consumer Products and its parent firm, Johnson & Johnson Products, and Jewel Food Stores Co.
Janus died last Thursday after taking tainted Tylenol capsules that had been purchased at a Jewel in Arlington Heights. His wife died Friday after being hospitalized in critical condition.
Stanley's brother, Adam, 27, also died after taking capsules from the same bottle. His widow filed suit Monday seeking $15 million in damages.
The latest Janus family suits accuse the defendants of negligence for manufacturing and selling medicine without a seal or tamper-proof caps.
The suits also accuse Johnson & Johnson of inadequately supervising the use of cyanide in its factories. The chemical is used to test the purity of material used to manufacture Tylenol.
Officials, however, have said they doubt the cyanide was introduced into the capsules at the McNeil plants.
The suits seek damages for the 'great pain, suffering and anguish' Stanley and Theresa Janus suffered before they died and for the cost of funeral expenses.
