A Philadelphia jury awarded $70 million to a young boy who developed breasts after taking the drug Risperdal. The Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit plaintiff, Andrew Yount, is only five years old.
Risperdal, also known as risperidone, is an antipsychotic manufactured by Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical division, Janssen Pharmaceuticals. It was originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 as a treatment for schizophrenia. In 2006, the approval was expanded to children.
Risperdal Gynecomastia Lawsuit
Johnson & Johnson has been pulled into the legal realm, unearthing years of negligent behavior. Litigation records show that the company illegally promoted Risperdal for off-label uses from 1999 to 2005, marketing the drug to treat dementia in the elderly and autism and ADD in kids.
According to a legal document stating the most recent verdict, the court ruled that Johnson & Johnson had:
- failed to warn health care providers about the gynecomastia risk
- intentionally falsified, destroyed, or concealed evidence
Yount's family will receive damages that can assist in getting him the treatment he needs. But Yount is not alone. He is one of 12,000 individuals who have taken action against Johnson & Johnson's mishandling of a drug with serious side effects. In another Risperdal case, the family was awarded $2.5 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating Johnson & Johnson's mismanagement of the drug Risperdal. In 2013, the pharmaceutical giant paid $2.2 billion in a criminal case built around its illegal marketing tactics.