Our Firm is representing numerous other Risperdal gynecomastia plaintiffs in this mass tort proceeding, so the testimony presented at trial is of great interest.
New York, New York (PRWEB) January 27, 2015
Testimony is now underway in the first trial of a Risperdal gynecomastia (http://www.risperdallawsuit2014.com/) claim pending in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where a mass tort litigation has been established for product liability lawsuits involving the antipsychotic medication, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. Court documents indicate that during yesterday’s proceeding, the 16-member jury heard from a pediatric neurologist who said that he regrets not being aware of the link between Risperdal and male breast growth when he prescribed the medication to the Plaintiff in 2002. Had the drug’s manufacturers warned him of that association, the witness asserted he would have re-evaluated his decision to treat his patient – then an 8-year-old boy – with the medication. (Case No. 1204-01997)
Court filings show that case at trial in Pennsylvania is one of at least 1,257 filed in the mass tort on behalf of individuals who were allegedly harmed by Risperdal. According to the complaint, the 20-year-old Plaintiff was prescribed Risperdal to treat symptoms of autism – then an off-label use of the drug. The lawsuit accuses Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit of failing to warn doctors and patients about the medication’s association with the disorder, and of improperly promoting the medication for unapproved, off-label uses.
“Our Firm is representing numerous other Risperdal gynecomastia plaintiffs in this mass tort proceeding, so the testimony presented at trial is of great interest. Our clients also allege that the drug’s risks were concealed, and they raise similar questions regarding its off-label use,” 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 due to their use of Risperdal.
Risperdal Litigation
Risperdal (risperidone) is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adult and adolescent schizophrenia, bipolar disorder in adults and children ages 10-to-17, and irritability in children (5-to-16 years of age) with autistic disorder. However, none of the drug’s pediatric indications were approved by the FDA until 2006.**
All of the Risperdal lawsuits pending in the Pennsylvania litigation similarly allege that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen concealed the risk of gynecomastia and other side effects from the public, and failed to provide adequate warnings about these dangers. They also allege that the companies improperly promoted off-label uses, including the use of Risperdal in children and as a treatment for elderly dementia patients. As a bellwether trial, the case currently being heard in Philadelphia could provide valuable insight into how other juries might decide other Risperdal gynecomastia cases pending in the proceeding. (In Re: Risperdal Litigation, Case Number 100300296)
Johnson & Johnson and Janssen’s marketing of Risperdal has also been called into question on other fronts. In November 2013, for example, the companies reached an accord with the U.S. Department of Justice to pay $2.2 billion to several criminal and civil charges regarding the marketing of several medications, including Risperdal. While Johnson & Johnson and Janssen did plead guilty to promoting Risperdal for off-label use in elderly dementia patients, court records indicate that they did not admit wrongdoing in resolving any of the other allegations, including claims that they had marketed Risperdal for off-label pediatric indications. (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 04-cv-1529)
Victims of gynecomastia allegedly caused by Risperdal may be entitled to pursue their own claim against Johnson & Johnson and Janssen. To learn more about filing a Risperdal lawsuit, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. For a free case review, please call 800-511-5092.
*accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/020272s056,020588s044,021346s033,021444s03lbl.pdf, FDA, June 2009
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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