After a jury declined to award him damages, the plaintiff in a Risperdal lawsuit has brought his request for a new trial before a Pennsylvania Appeals Court.

In the original trial, the jury determined there was not enough evidence to connect plaintiff Billy C.’s abnormal breast growth with the Risperdal he had been prescribed at age six. Billy sought a new trial, but that request was rejected in July 2015.

The jury did find that manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, had been negligent in failing to make a proper warning about the risks of Risperdal side effects. However that finding by itself did not create a basis for an award of damages.

Billy is now appealing the denial of his request for a new trial based on alleged problems with expert evidence presented at the original trial. He says that a physician’s assistant who had previously been involved in Billy’s treatment should not have been allowed to testify that she believed his gynecomastia had been attributable to weight gain.

Billy is also challenging testimony by an expert witness for Janssen who testified that in Billy’s case the benefits of taking Risperdal outweighed the risk of Risperdal side effects.

Janssen argues that other witnesses’ testimony supported a conclusion that his gynecomastia due to weight gain, making any problems with the physician’s assistant’s testimony irrelevant. The company also defends the testimony of its expert witness as having been properly admitted.

Risperdal Side Effects

Male breast growth, known commonly but untechnically as “man boobs,” is referred to clinically as gynecomastia. Risperdal’s label states that instances of gynecomastia have been reported in conjunction with treatment for Risperdal.

The alleged connection between Risperdal and gynecomastia has led to a series of Risperdal lawsuits brought by former Risperdal patients. Some plaintiffs say they developed gynecomastia during youth or adolescence, resulting in teasing and social stigma for having “man boobs.”

Billy originally filed his own Risperdal lawsuit in 2013. He alleged that he had been prescribed Risperdal in 2002 when he was only six years old. Risperdal at that time had not been approved by the FDA for use in children his age. Billy alleged that his Risperdal “man boobs” eventually reached size 46DD.

The jury did agree that Janssen had been negligent in failing to properly warn about Risperdal gynecomastia. At the time Billy took Risperdal, its label stated that Risperdal gynecomastia had been reported in fewer than one in 1,000 patients.

The label was updated in 2006 to reflect a higher rate of 2.3 out of 1,000 patients. Billy argued that Janssen had been aware of the higher rate before the 2006 label update, yet failed to notify physicians or their patients about it.

Billy’s Risperdal lawsuit is the only one among several similar claims in Pennsylvania state court in which Janssen has avoided being hit with a damage award. Three other Risperdal lawsuits have gone to trial in Pennsylvania, all of which resulted in damage awards for the plaintiffs.

The first trial resulted in an award of $2.5 million for the plaintiff. Two trials following Billy’s yielded awards of $500,000 and $1.75 million, respectively.