The U.S. Supreme Court says it will not hear an appeal from Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, Janssen, which had been penalized $124 million for deceptive marketing of its anti-psychotic drug, Risperdal. The federal district court has entered a ruling that Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. should pay penalties for violating South Carolina law. In 2011, it was found that Janssen had been downplaying the effects of its drug Risperdal by claiming that it was safer than other similar competing medications.
The total penalty of $124 million for deceptive marketing was the largest drug marketing award in state history and largest penalty levied for violations of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act.
It was claimed that Janssen knew that Risperdal was related to health problems that they hid from doctors. Instead, Janssen publicized studies that it claimed were evidence that the drug lowered incidences of diabetes and weight gain when compared to other similar medicines. Those claims were false.
Risperdal is prescribed for patients with debilitating mental illnesses and neurodevelopmental conditions.
Risperdal was introduced in 1994 as an anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and irritability in autism patients.
In 2013, Janssen settled lawsuits with 36 states for a total of $181 million. South Carolina was not one of those states.
There remains many personal-injury lawsuits pending against Janssen Pharmaceuticals for injuries suffered by patients using Risperdal. Many of these cases are pending both in state and federal district courts around the country.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling pharmaceutical defect cases, product liability cases, Risperdal lawsuits, dietary supplement lawsuits and medical malpractice cases for individuals and families who have been injured or killed by the negligence of a medical provider or pharmaceutical maker for more than 40 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and surrounding areas including, Schiller Park, Orland Park, Antioch, Arlington Heights, Flossmoor, Palatine, Elmwood Park, Tinley Park, Deerfield, Wheeling, Chicago (Austin, Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Lincoln Square, Jackson Park, Pill Hill, Chinatown, Greek Town, Little Italy, Back of the Yards), Aurora, Bolingbrook and Barrington, Ill.
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