- Johnson sentenced to pay $ 8 billion for Risperdal side effects
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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea 17 January 2020Cut to pay the punitive compensation that the Philadelphia Court had inflicted on the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson in October.A Philadelphia judge reduced the original $ 8 billion that the pharmaceutical multinational has to pay in the lawsuit for the antipsychotic drug Risperdal to $ 6.8 million, which would have caused the breasts to swell in men (gynecomastia).
There are over 13,000 lawsuits filed against Risperdal in the United States. In various cases Johnson & Johnson is accused of being aware of the risks deriving from the use of the drug but of not having adequately advised doctors and patients.
The original compensation was awarded by the Philadelphia Court to an applicant who suffered unwanted side effects from the Risperdal drug used to treat people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and even people with autism.
The plaintiff, Nicholas Murray, 26, started taking the drug as a child to treat autism-related behaviors, but the drug caused breast growth - a condition called gynecomastia.
Punitive damages add to the $ 680,000 compensatory award awarded to the claimant. Johnson & Johnson had appealed against the $ 8 billion payment sentence, believing the sum out of proportion.
The company has come under pressure in recent years due to various product liability lawsuits. Some consumers claimed that the multinational's baby powder products led them to develop ovarian cancer. There have also been problems with some products in Australia where the company lost a case last year.