If you're a parent, you're careful about the food and drugs you give to your child. You may rely on trusted brand names, assuming that their longevity on the market means their products are safe and reliable.

Of course, mistakes sometimes happen in the manufacturing of these products, and when that happens, a company typically announces a recall that warns consumers not to use the products. In most cases these recalls are widely publicized to ensure that everyone learns of them. But the parents of a boy who died from taking an unsafe product have filed a lawsuit alleging that a well-known drugmaker not only failed to do this, but went out of its way to prevent informing the public.

The parents say that Johnson & Johnson issued a "stealth" recall of tainted Children's Tylenol. Instead of announcing the drug had problems that made it dangerous, the couple's lawsuit says, the company bought all the drugs remaining on store shelves. The parents say their 2-year-old son died of liver failure in July 2010, the day after he took Children's Tylenol. They sued Johnson & Johnson, J&J subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Costco and third-party contractors allegedly hired to buy up the drugs from retailers on the sly.

The parents' complaint says that evidence lies in an internal email from a McNeil executive, which stated the company was trying to prevent a recall "and a lot of expended dollars." In another email, the complaint says, an executive called the stealth recall a "major win for us as it limits the press that will be seen."

The complaint says the Food and Drug Administration got wind of the recall when it received a copy of an internal memo. McNeil later issued a public recall, but it was far too late for the 2-year-old boy who died. His parents are seeking punitive damages for product liability, recklessness, breach of warranty, violation of consumer protection law and other charges.

At a time when drugmakers are making handy profits, there's no excuse for attempts to save money by putting consumers at risk. If these parents' product liability lawsuit is successful, it will send a message to other pharmaceutical companies and retailers that saving large amounts of money at the expense of even one child's life won't be tolerated.

Source: Courthouse News Service, "Grieving Parents Blast J&J 'Stealth Recall,'" Joe Harris, Jan. 4, 2012