Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle a seven-and-a-half-year-old Risperdal lawsuit, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. The state of Arkansas filed the lawsuit in 2007, alleging that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, unlawfully marketed its antipsychotic drug Risperdal to Arkansas doctors.
The lawsuit claimed that Johnson & Johnson put patients at risk by not fully disclosing the potential health effects of Risperdal, which include diabetes, sexual development complications, excessive weight gain, and stroke. In February of this year, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve the first Philadelphia Risperdal lawsuit to go to trial. In that lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that using Risperdal caused him to develop gynecomastia, a condition wherein males grow enlarged breasts.
Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, have a long history of legal troubles related to Risperdal. In 2012, Johnson & Johnson was forced to pay roughly $1.2 billion in fines after committing over 250,000 violations of Arizona’s Medicaid fraud and deceptive practices laws. One year later, the company spent over $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil investigations arising from allegations about its marketing of Risperdal and two other prescription drugs.
Ask your doctor or physician about any side effects your drugs might cause, and always seek medical counsel before changing your treatment plan. If you or a loved one were diagnosed with gynecomastia after taking Risperdal, contact the pharmaceutical attorneys at Lopez McHugh today. You may be able to pursue compensation through your own Risperdal lawsuit.
