Quoted from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/26/state/n080258S84.DTL
Calif. jury deliberating in Botox death case
Friday, February 26, 2010
Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) --
Jurors have started deliberating in the case of a mother who claims an overdose of the anti-wrinkle drug Botox killed her 7-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy.
Kristen Spears, of Amarillo, Texas, died in November 2007 of respiratory failure and pneumonia. Her mother, Dee, sued Botox maker Allergan Inc., alleging an overdose weakened muscles that controlled her daughter's breathing.
The family is seeking $20 million in actual damages and an additional $40 million in punitive damages from Irvine-based Allergan.
Kristen Spears, who was born with cerebral palsy, received Botox injections over a 17-month period to relax muscle spams in her legs.
While Botox is commonly used for cosmetic purposes to smooth wrinkles and frown lines, some doctors use the botulin-based drug at higher doses to treat muscle spasms in cerebral palsy patients.