Risperdal Gynecomastia Lawsuit – $70 Million Jury Verdict in Philadelphia Court

In an unprecedented jury verdict, Andrew Yount, a Tennessee plaintiff was awarded $70 million in a Risperdal trial.

Andrew Yount v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the fifth Risperdal case, awarded $70 million in damages for emotional distress and physical disfigurement that was tied to Yount’s grown breasts that developed from taking the antipsychotic drug which he was on from five years of age.

This award is twenty-eight times greater than the previous highest jury verdict, in Philadelphia-based Risperdal litigation, which was $2.5 million. In this case, an Alabama man, Austin Pledger, who was prescribed Risperdal as a teen in 2002 for treating mood swings related to his autism, developed size 46 DD breasts, allegedly as a result of Risperdal use.

Pledger, like that of Yount, claimed Janssen Pharmaceuticals had failed to disclose and properly warn of the serious side effects associated with use prior to being prescribed the drug.

To date, only one case has ended in a favorable ruling for Janssen.

The verdict is “important to all of us,” said Stephen Sheller, of Sheller P.C. and praised the efforts of his fellow counsel in the case.

Not only is the verdict important to Mr. Yount, his family and to his counsel, but it is also important for our system of justice and moreover to the country and our jury system, said Sheller.

Sheller claimed Janssen’s leadership failed to adequately warn the public of the dangers associated with Risperdal use, and further stated his personal belief that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) likewise failed to protect the public from the drug and its alleged dangers.

Statistics from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas and its Complex Litigation Center, estimate that more than 1,750 cases have been filed in Risperdal litigation in this court system.

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