At this time, over 1,300 different Risperdal lawsuits have been filed by men or the parents of young boys who were prescribed the antipsychotic and developed gynecomastia.

Many of these lawsuits have ended in substantial Risperdal lawsuit settlements for the plaintiffs to compensate them for their pain and suffering due to alleged Risperdal side effects.

Primarily characterized by male breast growth, patients have reportedly developed breasts as large D-cup and have even lactated from the severely increased hormones.

Some patients have decided to file legal action against the drug’s manufacturing company Johnson & Johnson, and have successfully received Risperdal lawsuit settlements.

Risperdal lawsuit settlements can vary in size depending on whether or not the claim is a class action with a large number of members, or if it is an individual lawsuit with only one or multiple collective plaintiffs.

Risperdal Gynecomastia Association

Initially approved to treat adult patients with extreme mental disorders in 1993, it was later approved to treat children in 2006. However, doctors were reportedly prescribing Risperdal to treat children as off-label treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and some forms of autism.

Not long after they started the medication, young boys started developing gynecomastia due to the drug triggering a large production influx of prolactin.  Prolactin is the hormone primarily responsible for breast development in growing grows, and is naturally produced in small amounts in young boys.

Risperdal Lawsuit Settlements

At this time, there have been several Risperdal lawsuit settlements awarded to plaintiffs hoping to hold Johnson & Johnson accountable for failing to warn about possible Risperdal side effects.

One of the most recent Risperdal settlements occurred in March 2015 when a Philadelphia jury ordered Johnson & Johnson and its’ subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, to pay $2.5 million in damages to a young man with autism who started taking Risperdal when he was eight.  The drug was not approved to treat children at the time of the prescription, with the label stating that the risk for gynecomastia was low.

Additionally, in the three years the Risperdal litigation has been pending, one the largest Risperdal lawsuit settlements came in March 2014, when an Arkansas state court ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $7.5 million to Risperdal patients.

This original Risperdal lawsuit settlement amount was $1.2 billion, which was later reduced to the $7.5 million. The judge overseeing this case explained that the settlement had to be reduced because the lawsuit was filed under state law that only effects healthcare facilities, and not drug companies.

Furthermore, a South Carolina court decided on a $327 million Risperdal lawsuit settlement from a South Carolina court in 2015.  While this verdict was later reduced to $124 million, it is still one of the largest Risperdal lawsuit settlements on record.

Filing a Risperdal Lawsuit

It has been reported that Risperdal causes the body to manufacture much larger amounts of the hormone prolactin, resulting in male breast growth. Patients who were prescribed Risperdal, generic Risperidone, or Risperdal Costa when they were between the ages of 10 and 18 and developed gynecomastia may be eligible to file a Risperdal gynecomastia lawsuit and potentially be compensated through Risperdal lawsuit settlement.

These Risperdal lawsuit settlements are often meant to pay damages to patients who had to undergo various medical treatments for gynecomastia, including surgery and therapy. As stated before, these Risperdal lawsuit settlements vary between cases but plaintiffs can expect a rigorous legal process before seeing any of the compensation.

Potential claimants should contact a specialized lawyer to determine eligibility for Risperdal lawsuit settlements, and to be guided through the complex litigation process.