THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996             TAG: 9601180476
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: SPRINGFIELD                        LENGTH: Short :   30 lines

VA. MAN WINS SUIT AGAINST COMPANY THAT MAKES TYLENOL

A man whose liver was nearly destroyed when he combined wine with Tylenol has won an $8.8 million suit against the pain reliever's manufacturer.

Antonio Benedi nearly died in 1993 when he took the drug for flu symptoms over three days. He also drank about three glasses of wine each day he took the drug.

An appeal of the October 1994 U.S. District Court verdict by Tylenol's maker, McNeil Consumer Products Co., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, was rejected late last year. In December, the makers of Tylenol sent him the check.

``I didn't win the lottery; I lost my health,'' Benedi, 40, said.

Benedi went into a coma with liver failure after taking the maximum dose recommended of Extra-Strength Tylenol. He is one of the few people in whom the combination of the drug's active ingredient, acetaminophen, can cause severe liver damage when mixed with alcohol.

KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT TYLENOL by CNB