Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Paula Patrick urges the Pennsylvania Superior Court to uphold the $70 Million jury verdict in A.Y. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals. AY is one of many boys who developed gynecomastia after taking Janssen’s anti-psychotic medication Risperdal. This is the 5th trial for Risperdal, with over 6,000 awaiting trial in a consolidated mass tort in Philadelphia, and by far the largest verdict.
Patrick oversaw the two week trial that resulted in the multimillion dollar verdict and she believes it is within the jury’s discretion.
“This court did not invalidate the jury’s verdict because the award was not unreasonable. Assessing damages in a case such as this is a difficult task. … Upon consideration of the evidence presented at trial and the damages sustained by plaintiffs, this court believes that the jury’s finding should not be disturbed.” -Judge Paula Patrick, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
In 2013, J&J agreed to pay a $2.2B settlement for improper promotion of Rispderal. It was the third largest settlement for illegal marketing by pharmaceutical company. Sheller PC founder, Stephen Sheller, represented one of the four whistleblowers that led to this settlement. Sheller’s book Pharmageddon discusses step-by-step how J&J and other pharmaceutical companies get away with deceptive marketing, off-label use, and why these large settlements still do not change corporate behavior. “It seems to be getting worse,” Sheller tells America’s Lawyer, Mike Papantonio.
Sheller PC also represents hundreds of plaintiff’s in their ‘failure to warn’ suits against Janssen for Risperdal injuries.
Read more:
Judge Urges Superior Court to Affirm $70M Riserdal Verdict, Law.com, June 22, 218
