Patients across the country are filing Risperdal lawsuits after allegedly suffering unexpected medication side effects like gynecomastia.

Also known as unexpected male breast growth, gynecomastia is one of the most commonly named injuries in Risperdal lawsuits. Patients are alleging manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals failed to adequately warn about the risk of gynecomastia.

By this past summer, there were over 5,800 Risperdal lawsuits pending in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas alleging Johnson & Johnson failed to warn the public against this alleged correlation.

As of the beginning of this year, there were over 18,500 Risperdal lawsuits filed throughout the country by young male patients who allegedly developed male breast growth. Johnson & Johnson has already paid several confidential settlement amounts to avoid jury trials after several defeats in the court room.

One of the biggest trial verdicts came in 2016. A plaintiff won a Risperdal award of $70 million in the fifth Risperdal claim to go to trial. According to this Risperdal lawsuit, a teenage boy from Tennessee had developed gynecomastia soon after starting his prescription when he was just five years old.

Many other Risperdal lawsuits allege similar injuries, claiming the company either knew or should have known about the potential side effects of their medication.

Johnson & Johnson were previously in trouble for allegedly illegally marketing the drug for pediatric use before getting official approval to do so in 2006. The company allegedly began marketing Risperdal for pediatric use after observing how popular it was for that purpose in off-label treatment prescriptions.

While it is not illegal for doctors to prescribe medications for off label treatment uses, it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to market the drug for this purpose. With the drug not initially evaluated for pediatric treatment, the potential side effects on pediatric patients were not known at the time.

Overview of Risperdal Complications

Risperdal was approved by the FDA in 1993 as a medication for adult patients suffering from mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Risperdal works by altering the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine. However, this drug’s treatment mechanism has been linked to complications like gynecomastia.

During the body’s metabolism process, the medication interacts with the body’s pituitary gland and causes an increase of prolactin production. Prolactin is the hormone primarily responsible for breast development and milk production in pregnant and nursing mothers.

When prolactin is suddenly increased, it can cause a severe hormonal imbalance potentially resulting in gynecomastia for young men and galactorrhea or sudden milk production in young girls.

Often, gynecomastia patients have to undergo surgery to remove the excess breast tissue and have to receive counseling for severe emotional trauma. Even though these complications can be potentially devastating to patients, Johnson & Johnson allegedly failed to disclose this information to the public.

Patients who allegedly developed Risperdal gynecomastia may be able to file legal action against Johnson & Johnson. Potential claimants should contact a lawyer to determine eligibility for a Risperdal lawsuit.