Though Johnson & Johnson has lost several recent Risperdal lawsuits, the company is expected to avoid agreeing to any Risperdal settlements before some of its appeals get resolved.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been targeted in a number of Risperdal lawsuits and has lost four recent ones.

One of its recent Risperdal jury verdicts cost the company $70 million.

Johnson & Johnson continues to face claims like these, with thousands of cases pending.

However, despite the recent string of losses, these cases are not expected to generate Risperdal settlements anytime soon while issues like punitive damages and statutory deadlines for filing claims play out before appeals courts.

The latest in a Philadelphia Risperdal mass tort is a case involving claims from a now 19-year-old man who claims that taking Risperdal in his childhood caused a condition known as gynecomastia.

According to that lawsuit, the boy began taking Risperdal in 2004, when he was just 8 years old, to treat behavioral problems. After taking Risperdal for four years, the boy was eventually diagnosed with gynecomastia in 2010.

According to an attorney representing the plaintiffs, “[t]he big fight in the case, like all these cases, is going to be whether the Risperdal caused his gynecomastia…I think they’ll argue it might have been caused by puberty or genetics.”

A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson stated that the defense believes that “the evidence will show that this plaintiff was not harmed by using Risperdal and, in fact, that he was helped by using this medication.”

Before October 2006, Risperdal warning labels noted that gynecomastia was considered a rare side effect in adults.

However, plaintiffs have since claimed that Johnson & Johnson was aware at the time that gynecomastia was a much more significant risk for children than adults, yet failed to adequately warn about this problem.

The Risperdal label was later updated to reflect a 2.3 percent rate of gynecomastia in adolescents taking the drug.

Risperdal Basics

Risperdal (also known by its generic name, risperidone) is a popular antipsychotic drug manufactured and distributed by Johnson & Johnson.

It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat a variety of mental or mood disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar mania, and autism.

Like any medication, Risperdal comes with side effects. Risperdal side effects include involuntary motion, dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, nausea, and skin rashes.

However, Risperdal has also been linked with a more serious condition known as gynecomastia.

Risperdal Gynecomastia Side Effects

Hundreds of boys and young men who took Risperdal say they developed gynecomastia, a condition which is essentially the growth of male breasts.

These Risperdal gynecomastia side effects are caused by excess breast tissue rather than the buildup of fat.

For some young men, Risperdal gynecomastia side effects became such an issue in their daily lives that they choose to undergo surgery for excess tissue removal.

Gynecomastia can be traumatic for an adolescent boy to go through. Indeed, in some of these cases, boys had grown such excessive breast tissue from Risperdal gynecomastia side effects that the breasts grew to the size of “D” cups.

Risperdal Settlements

Hundreds of boys and young men who have suffered from Risperdal gynecomastia side effects have filed gynecomastia lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson.

These injured parties claim that that the drug maker failed to adequately warn patients about the potential side effects of the drug.

Johnson & Johnson has already lost some of these cases at trial, to the tune of several million dollars each. The company had agreed to some Risperdal settlements, but the dollar amounts involved in those agreements aren’t necessarily made public.

If you or someone you know was negatively impacted by Risperdal gynecomastia side effects, or you are a male who has developed excessive breast tissues due to taking Risperdal, you may be able to file a Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson for failure to adequately warn about the potential side effects of the drug.