Johnson & Johnson and Janssen are still facing dozens of Risperdal lawsuits on behalf of individuals who allegedly developed gynecomastia or other side effects due to their use of this medication. These cases will continue to move forward.
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 21, 2014
Johnson & Johnson has been successful in its bid to have a $1.2 billion verdict rendered in an Arkansas Risperdal lawsuit (http://www.risperdallawsuitcenter.com/) overturned, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to a decision rendered yesterday, the high court ruled that the state had relied on the wrong law when it originally filed suit against Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceutical’s unit. The Arkansas Attorney General had brought the claim under the state’s Medicaid fraud statute, which the Supreme Court said only covers healthcare facilities, and not large pharmaceutical companies. (Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al v. Arkansas, Nos. 12-1058, 13-468)
According to court records, the $1.2 billion verdict was levied in April 2012, after a jury found that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen had violated state laws governing Medicaid fraud and deceptive trade practice by improperly marketing Risperdal. The state court judge overseeing the case levied a $5,000 fine against the drug makers for each Risperdal prescription purchased through the state Medicaid program over a 3 ½ year period. The companies were also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 for each of the more than 4,500 letters Janssen sent to Arkansas doctors to promote the use of Risperdal.
"Johnson & Johnson and Janssen are still facing dozens of Risperdal lawsuits on behalf of individuals who allegedly developed gynecomastia or other side effects due to their use of this medication. These cases will continue to move forward, in spite of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s ruling," says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing the victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is currently offering free legal consultations to men and boys who allegedly developed gynecomastia, or male breast growth, due to their use of Risperdal.
Risperdal Lawsuits
According to court documents, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen have been named in more than 200 Risperdal lawsuits that are currently pending in a consolidated litigation in Pennsylvania's Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Dozens of these lawsuits allege that the use of Risperdal caused gynecomastia in men and boys. Among other things, plaintiffs claim that Risperdal was improperly marketed for use in children long before it was approved for pediatric indications in 2006, and that the companies concealed side effects associated with the medication. (Risperdal Litigation, case number 100300296)
Court records indicate that the tactics used by Johnson & Johnson and Janssen to market Risperdal have been under scrutiny for some time now. This past November, the companies agreed to pay $2.2 billion to settle healthcare fraud charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice that involved Risperdal and other medications. Under the terms of the settlement, the drug makers entered a guilty plea to one criminal misdemeanor charge involving the illegal promotion of Risperdal for use in elderly dementia patients. However, they did not admit wrongdoing in resolving civil claims that it improperly marketed Risperdal for use in children. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 04-cv-1529)
Alleged victims of Risperdal and gynecomastia may be entitled to compensation for their injury-related damages. Learn more about filing a Risperdal lawsuit at Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. Free case reviews may also be obtained by calling the Firm directly at 800-511-5092.
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since the list was first published in 2003.
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