Johnson & Johnson has been hit with another Tylenol lawsuit alleging the popular over-the-counter medicine caused acute liver failure.

Rhode Island plaintiff Beth M. Tedeschi alleges in the Tylenol lawsuit that she began using Extra Strength Tylenol sometime in May 2011 and continued to use the pain reliever until June 9, 2011, when she was diagnosed with acute liver failure.

Acute liver failure is the rapid loss of liver function usually in a person with no pre-existing liver disease. It occurs much more rapidly (within days or weeks) compared to chronic liver failure, which is more common.

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening medical condition that sometimes requires a liver transplant. Symptoms may include yellowing of the skin and eyeballs (jaundice), pain in the upper right abdomen, abdominal swelling, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, and sleepiness.

One of the common causes of acute liver failure is acetaminophen overdose. Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in hundreds of OTC and prescription drugs, including Tylenol. Acute liver failure from Tylenol can occur after one very large dose of acetaminophen, or after taking higher doses every day for long periods of time.

Johnson & Johnson is facing dozens of Tylenol liver damage lawsuits alleging the company failed to provide adequate warnings about the risk of acetaminophen overdose on the labels of Tylenol.

Overview: Tylenol Liver Damage

Tylenol is one of the most popular drugs in the United States, as well as one of the most widely used medications in the world. Due to how commonly Tylenol is used and how easily accessible it is, many patients assume that the drug is perfectly safe with no major side effects. However, many consumers are unaware how common acetaminophen overdose is.

Acetaminophen overdose has become the most common cause of liver damage in the United States. Each year, approximately 1,600 cases of liver failure, 450 deaths and 56,000 emergency-room visits are reportedly caused by acetaminophen.

Some of these patients are filing Tylenol liver injury lawsuits, claiming that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn them about the possibility of liver injury and that adequate precautions had not been taken. At least 27 Tylenol lawsuits are currently consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) in Pennsylvania.

The Tylenol Liver Damage MDL is In Re: Tylenol (Acetaminophen) Marketing, Sales Practices And Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2436, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania.