Risperdal Lawsuit
Following a growing body of evidence that ties a popular Johnson & Johnson medication to gynecomastia, a condition referring to male breast growth, an increasing number of Risperdal lawsuit claims alleging this complication have been filed in courts throughout the U.S.
Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic drug approved to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in adults and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17, among other disorders. Despite the fact that this medication was not approved for pediatric uses by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until 2006, court documents show that several Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit filings involve young boys who allegedly developed the condition
Like other medications of its kind, Risperdal targets dopamine and serotonin receptors in the brain, and is also approved to treat irritability in children ages 5-to-16 with autism. Research suggests that it is also frequently prescribed off-label for uses not approved by the FDA however, including the treatment of ADHD. Since its FDA approval in 1993, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals have made billions of dollars in Risperdal sales.
BREAKING NEWS: $70 Million Risperdal Verdict Largest So Far
On July 1, 2016, a Pennsylvania jury ordered Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals to pay $70 million to a teenager who developed female-like breasts while using Risperdal. Court records indicate that the verdict is the largest awarded so far to a gynecomastia plaintiff in the mass tort program now underway in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Following two weeks of testimony, the jury unanimously found that the drug’s manufacturers failed to provide adequate warnings regarding the association between Risperdal and gynecomastia.The Panel also ruled that the defendants “intentionally falsified, destroyed or concealed records containing material evidence.” Read More
On July 11th, Janssen filed a brief in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, asking the Court to overturn the verdict, asserting that the $70 million compensatory damage award “defies rational belief and cannot stand.” However, the trial judge subsequently rejected the company’s pretrial motions, allowing the verdict to stand. Janssen has promised to appeal. Read More
Risperdal Gynecomastia Litigation Update
- March 2017: Johnson & Johnson’s legal costs grew by 480% last year, as the company faced more than 107,000 legal claims involving products marketed by it or its subsidiaries. Over 18,000 of the pending cases involve Risperdal, including many that allege the antipsychotic drug caused men and boys to develop gynecomasti. Read More
- February 2017: Janssen Pharmaceuticals is seeking to impose stricter requirements on new plaintiffs who file Risperdal lawsuits in the centralized litigation currently underway in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by requiring filers to include medical and prescription records with their Plaintiff Fact Sheets. However, plaintiffs’ attorneys have characterized Janssen’s request as an attempt to rewrite the rules that comes too late in the litigation. Read More
- January 2017: Another Risperdal gynecomastia settlement has been announced in the mass tort litigation now underway in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Court records indicate that the case was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, January 9th, but was resolved on Friday, January 6th. The lawsuit was initially filed in April 2013 by the family of a New York boy who allegedly developed female-like breasts after taking Risperdal for nearly a decade. Terms of the settlement are confidential. Read More
- December 2016: Pennsylvania’s sixth trial of a Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit came to an abrupt end, after the judge overseeing the case granted Janssen Pharmaceutical’s motion for compulsory nonsuit. Attorneys for the Plaintiff have expressed confidence that the ruling will be overturned. Read More
- December 2016: A third Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit has gone to trial in Pennsylvania. This time, the case involves a Nebraska man who was prescribed the drug off-label at the age of 7. During opening statements on December 2nd, his attorney asserted that the plaintiff would have never used the antipsychotic medication were it not for an allegedly misleading label that described gynecomastia as a rare side effect. Read More
- October 2016: Johnson & Johnson has agreed to settle the Risperdal lawsuit selected for Pennsylvania’s sixth gynecomastia trial. Terms of the settlement remain confidential. Read More
- October 2016: A recent filing with the SEC indicates that Johnson & Johnson is facing more than 13,000 Risperdal lawsuits. The company noted that it has established an accrual with respect to litigation, but acknowledged that changes to this accrual may be required in the future as additional information becomes available. Read More
- May 2016: A judge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has upheld the $2.5 million verdict awarded to the plaintiff in the state’s first Risperdal gynecomastia trial, after rejecting bids for a new trial from both plaintiffs and defendants. A Risperdal case that was also slated to go to trial this month in the Pennsylvania litigation has been settled for an undisclosed amount. Read More
- March 2016: The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has upheld the verdict rendered in the third Risperdal gynecomastia trial, ruling that the plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to show that negligence on the part of Janssen Pharmaceuticals led to his excessive breast development. However, the jury’s original $1.75 million judgement was reduced to $680,000 to comply with the law on damages in the plaintiff’s home state of Maryland. Read More
- December 2015: More than 1,600 Risperdal lawsuits have been filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where a mass tort program has been established for product liability claims involving the drug’s alleged side effects. In 2015, the court began trying cases involving Risperdal’s association with gynecomastia. So far, three trials have ended with findings in favor of the plaintiffs, including compensatory damage awards ranging from $500,000 to $2.5 million. In a remaining trial, the jury found that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen failed to provide patients with adequate gynecomastia warnings. But the panel declined to award the plaintiff any damages after determining that there was not enough evidence to conclude that the drug had caused his condition.
Risperdal Lawsuit Plaintiffs Allege Gynecomastia, other Complications
Court documents indicate that hundreds of cases are now pending in a consolidated Risperdal lawsuit litigation underway in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, many of which alleging gynecomastia complications. According to a 2006 study in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, this side effect may be caused by the drug’s potential to cause elevated levels of prolactin, a hormone associated with lactation in nursing mothers and female breast development in young girls. Some lawsuits over Risperdal, which is also known as Risperidone in its generic version, allege male breasts as large as D cups, and point to the findings of research published in a 2009 issue of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology suggesting that elevated prolactin levels may last up to two years.
In the worst-case scenario, mastectomy and liposuction procedures may be necessary to correct this painful and embarrassing condition.
Gynecomastia Symptoms Alleged in Risperdal, Risperidone Lawsuit Filings
If you have experienced swelling, pain, tenderness in the breast, or any nipple discharge, you may be eligible to file a Risperidone lawsuit, as these may be signs of gynecomastia. If you would like a free case review and would like to speak to an attorney, please contact us now to go over your potential claim.
Claims against Johnson & Johnson similarly allege that doctors and patients were not properly warned about Risperdal’s potential to cause male breast growth and other side effects, which may also include diabetes and movement disorders.
J&J Settlement, Drug News Headlines May Impact Risperdal Lawsuit Litigation
As the dust settles on a settlement agreement reached in November 2013 between Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Department of Justice, it is unclear how the litigation will be impacted. The agreement, which involved accusations from the federal government that the medication was promoted for uses not approved by the FDA, resulted in Johnson & Johnson paying $2.5 billion in criminal and civil penalties brought against them. Among the claims included in this settlement, the company marketed Risperdal to elderly patients with dementia and in children, before it was approved for pediatric uses in 2006.
Recent findings from the highly-revered consumer watchdog group, Consumer Reports, may also influence claims against Johnson & Johnson. Published in December 2013, an investigation revealed that Risperdal and other anti-psychotic medications have been used more frequently in children over the past 10 to 15 years, for which they have been increasingly prescribed to treat behavioral problems. The report goes on to raise concerns about the negative affect this may have on children in the future.
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