Risperdal Punitive Damages?

Philadelphia, PASeveral thousand Rispderdal victims with cases pending nationwide may have received good news this week. A Risperdal case has the first chance for a state appeals court to take into account punitive damages in the ongoing Risperdal trials.

This case resulted in a $500,000 award for Timothy Stange in December 2015. Stange’s attorneys argued in court that not only did Janssen conceal information about the risk of increased prolactin levels, which results in enlargement of breast tissue, the drug company also lied on its labeling information. The Risperdal label claims that gynecomastia only occurred in one case for every 1,000. But counsel claimed that the incidence rate was closer to five cases in 1,000 Risperdal patients.

Now, Judge Kenneth J. Powell Jr, after outlining the post-trial arguments from both sides in Stange v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, “asked the Superior Court to affirm the jury’s findings that Janssen Pharmaceuticals failed to warn about Risperdal’s link to excess growth of breast tissue and that its negligence caused plaintiff Timothy Stange’s injuries,” according to The Legal Intelligencer. Powell said that “[Janssen] lost a fair trial and now they must pay a fair price.”

Stange’s attorney, Thomas R. Kline of Kline & Specter, said this ruling not only rejects arguments Janssen made in Stange, but in other Risperdal cases. Kline told The Legal Intelligencer that “The ruling serves as a strong repudiation of many of the arguments made by Janssen in the litigation and we are hopeful to obtain an affirmance in the Superior Court.” The Superior Court ruling on this case will determine whether plaintiffs with Rispderal claims can seek punitive damages.

Rispderdal settlement

Just days before the above announcement, a Risperdal case that was expected to go to trial (May 2016) was settled for an unknown amount. Plaintiff Robert Moffat claimed that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen failed to warn that side effects of its antipsychotic medication caused gynecomastia - male breasts - among boys and young men.