As Risperdal Lawsuits Mount, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Notes New Study Linking Atypical Antipsychotic Medications to Kidney Damage in Elderly Patients
New York, New York (PRWEB) August 19, 2014 -- As Risperdal lawsuits (http://www.risperdallawsuitcenter.com) mount in U.S. courts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP notes the publication of a new study that suggests the use of atypical antipsychotic medications may increase the risk of acute kidney injury in elderly patients. According to a report published by The Ottawa Citizen, the study was conducted by researchers at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont., and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and looked at insurance data on 97,777 patients 65 and older who were prescribed atypical antipsychotics between 2003 and 2011. Within 90 days, 1,002 of those patients had been hospitalized with acute kidney injury. Medications used to treat these individuals included quetiapine, risperidone and olanzapine.* Risperidone is the active ingredient in Risperdal and Risperdal Consta.**
“The publication of this study comes as hundreds of Risperdal lawsuit plaintiffs seek compensation or serious injuries allegedly caused by the atypical antipsychotic, a number of whom are being represented by our Firm. The research serves to remind that Risperdal can potentially put patients at risk for serious side effects,” 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 (male breast growth) due to their use of Risperdal.
Risperdal Lawsuit
Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat adult and adolescent schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorder in adults and children ages 10-to-17. In addition, Risperdal is indicated to treat irritability in children (5-to-16 years of age) with autistic disorder. Some research also suggests that off- label use of Risperdal to treat ADHD is also on the rise.***
According to court documents, more than 600 plaintiffs are currently pursuing Risperdal lawsuits for side effects allegedly caused by the medication, including the development of gynecomastia in men and boys. The majority of these claims are pending in a mass tort litigation now underway in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where Bernstein Liebhard LLP is actively filing cases. Among other things, the complaints accuse Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals of concealing the association between Risperdal and male breast growth, and of improperly marketing the drug for off-label use in children. (In Re: Risperdal Litigation, Case Number 100300296).
On November 4th, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen had agreed to pay $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil charges stemming from their marketing of Risperdal and other drugs. Among other things, federal prosecutors had alleged that the companies improperly marketed Risperdal for various off-label uses, including for pediatric indications long before they were cleared in 2006, and as a treatment for elderly dementia patients. According to court documents filed in the case, the Justice Department had also charged that the companies concealed side effects associated with the medication, including an association between Risperdal and elevated levels of prolactin, a hormone linked to the development of gynecomastia. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 04-cv-1529)
Alleged victims of Risperdal and gynecomastia may be entitled to compensation from Johnson & Johnson and Janssen. To learn more about the ongoing Risperdal litigation, please contact the Firm by calling 800-511-5092.
*ottawacitizen.com/health/seniors/antipsychotic-drugs-elevate-risk-of-acute-kidney-injury-among-seniors-study-finds, Ottawa Citizen, August 18, 2014
**accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm?fuseaction=Search.SearchAction&SearchType=BasicSearch&SearchTerm=RISPERIDONE, FDA
***health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/08/07/more-kids-taking-antipsychotics-for-adhd-study, U.S. News & World Report, August 7, 2012
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. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3 billion on behalf of our clients. 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 it was first published in 2003.
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ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2014 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
info (at) consumerinjurylawyers (dot) com
http://www.risperdallawsuitcenter.com
https://plus.google.com/115936073311125306742?rel=author
Felecia L. Stern, Risperdal Lawsuit Information Center, http://www.risperdallawsuitcenter.com, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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