ABC News has reported on a case of Stevens Johnson Syndrome in California, likely caused by the patient’s use of her friend’s prescription medication. Stevens Johnson Syndromes is a life-threatenening autoimmune reaction, often triggered by over the counter and prescription drugs, including the anti-seizure medication Onfi.

In this SJS case, a 19-year-old engineering major at UCLA, who is also a young mother, was given a prescription drug by a friend when she was feeling under the weather. Some news reports say the pill was just a leftover antibiotic. However, the student rapidly experienced a burning sensation in her throat, and within 24 hours, she was in a critical condition.

The teenager was rushed to emergency care for Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a relatively rare autoimmune reaction. In this case, more than two-thirds of her body became covered in skin damage. The damage from Stevens Johnson Syndrome is so severe that it may resemble thermal or chemical burns. In fact, hospitals are often forced to treat Stevens Johnson Syndrome cases in their burn wards, since SJS patients risk similar complications as burn victims. The patient experienced blisters from head to toe, and doctors were eventually forced to place her on a ventilator. Her physicians told reporters that the patient’s injuries appeared as if she had been “burned from the inside out.”

What is Stevens Johnson Syndrome?

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (also called SJS) is an autoimmune disease, a condition wherein the body attacks its own skin, causing massive damage. SJS symptoms can go beyond skin rashes and blisters, frequently damaging the eyes so badly that patients may experience permanent blindness. SJS symptoms can even spread to the surface of internal organs, causing organ failure. Additionally, patients risk complications like secondary infection, dehydration, hypothermia, and disabling and disfiguring scarring. It can take years for a patient to recover from SJS, if they ever do.

Medical science still has questions about Stevens Johnson Syndrome, but it is known that nearly all cases can be traced back to unknown allergic reactions to drugs. The ABC reports don’t say exactly what drug caused this young woman to develop Stevens Johnson Syndrome, but a wide variety of drugs have been alleged to trigger SJS . Many common NSAIDs, antibiotics, and even the drug Onfi have been implicated in cases of Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Onfi (clobazam) is a seizure medicine that has been cited in a number SJS lawsuits.

SJS lawsuits have been filed by patients—and in some cases their next of kin—who suffered from Stevens Johnson Syndrome. These lawsuits allege that drug companies have not done enough to protect the general public from the risk Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Other SJS lawsuits have alleged that healthcare professionals have not identified Stevens Johnson Syndrome soon enough, leading to complications and delays in treatment that could be avoided.

More specifically, Lundbeck (the creators of Onfi) have been hit with Onfi SJS lawsuits by parents whose children took Onfi to help manage their seizures and epileptic symptoms, only to allegedly contract this painful skin condition.