The verdict in favor of Nicholas Murray, 26, came first in one of thousands of Risperdal cases pending in Pennsylvania.
Murray, like other male plaintiffs in the mass tort litigation over Risperdal, alleges that he developed breasts after being prescribed the medicine and taking it from 2003 to 2008. A psychologist prescribed the drug after diagnosing him with autism spectrum disorder. In late 1993, the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating schizophrenia and episodes of bipolar mania in adults.
Four years ago, a jury awarded Murray $1.75 million after finding that J&J was negligent in failing to warn consumers of the risks. A state appeals court upheld the verdict last year, but reduced it to $680,000.
“This jury, as have other juries in other litigations, once again imposed punitive damages on a corporation that valued profits over safety and profits over patients,” Murray’s lawyers, Tom Kline and Jason Itkin, said. “Johnson & Johnson and [subsidiary] Janssen chose billions over children,” they said.