The number of lawsuits in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas doubled to 5,800 cases in the first half of 2017 and may triple by the end of the year, according to The Legal Intelligencer.

There was a 185% increase in the number of Risperdal lawsuits because over 3,600 new cases have been filed since January.

Judge Arnold New, supervising judge of the Complex Litigation Center, confirmed that the Risperdal mass-tort is the largest in the system.

Up to 10 trials over Risperdal are currently scheduled to take place in Philadelphia through the end of 2017 and the first half of 2018, unless lawyers negotiate a settlement or another resolution.

All of the lawsuits accuse Johnson & Johnson of aggressively marketing Risperdal for unapproved uses in children and downplaying gynecomastia, a disfiguring side effect in which pre-pubescent boys grow female breast tissue that must be removed surgically.

The number of lawsuits skyrocketed after juries ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay compensation to victims.

In July 2016, the family of a 5 year-old boy in Tennessee was awarded $70 million in damages. Other verdicts include $500,000 in December 2015, $1.75 million in November 2015, and $2.5 million in February 2015. Several other Risperdal lawsuits have ended in confidential settlement payments before trials could start.

Source: Phila. Risperdal Docket More Than Doubles in First Half of 2017

Posted by Elizabeth Bradley

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