Risperdal And Diabetes
Risperdal And Diabetes
There is a link between the antipsychotic medication Risperdal and diabetes, but the company that manufactured Risperdal downplayed this risk; moreover, they improperly marketed it to those for whom the medication was not approved, including children and the elderly. If you or your minor child developed diabetes while taking Risperdal, attorneys at The Sanders Firm are available to discuss your options for filing a product liability lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson.
Through a Risperdal lawsuit, we can help you procure compensation that you need to cover medical expenses and other damages, and help send a message to pharmaceutical companies that it never pays to put profits over people.
Johnson & Johnson has been sued by many plaintiffs over the side effects of risperidone (better known by its brand name Risperdal) and has been ordered to pay record-breaking billions of dollars in settlements over their illegal marketing campaigns. There is no doubt that their medication has troubling side effects, and that they marketed it improperly. However, they also have powerful lawyers working for them and have had some recent judgments on the state level overturned.
If you believe that you or your child has been a victim of J&J’s illegally marketed drug, you need a strong and experienced team of Risperdal lawyers on your side in order to go up against deep-pocketed Big Pharma. The Sanders Firm has over 45 years of experience challenging pharmaceutical companies on behalf of our clients. We promise to do everything in our power to make sure you and your family get the compensation you deserve.
What is Risperdal?
Risperdal is an antipsychotic medication administered by injection. It was approved by the FDA to treat schizophrenia in adults in 1993, and bi-polar disorder in adults in 2003.
Antipsychotics treating schizophrenia symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations were first made available in the 1950s with the arrival of the drug Thorazine. Starting in 1993, a new generation of antipsychotics including Risperdal and other drugs appeared on the market. These new drugs were supposed to be as effective, with fewer debilitating side effects, than the first generation of antipsychotic drugs. However, their effectiveness and safety is now being debated.
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The Sanders Firm: Your Risperdal attorneys
Filing a Risperdal lawsuit is not an easy enterprise, but the attorneys at The Sanders Firm can take care of all facets of litigation for you, including the initial investigation, securing of expert witnesses, paperwork, red tape, and negotiations. We can fight for you so that you will receive maximum compensation for medical bills and treatment, pain and suffering, and punitive damages associated with your Rispedal-related diabetes.
Call us at 1-800-FAIR-PLAY for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with one of our attorneys. We will evaluate your case and answer all your questions. Remember that you will pay no legal fees to The Sanders Firm unless we procure a settlement or jury award for you.
Risperdal and diabetes
Side effects of Risperdal include gynecomastia (male breast growth), stroke, weight gain, and diabetes. A number of significant studies link diabetes to Risperdal.
Two large scale analyses connect Risperdal to diabetes:
- A large-scale study from 2003 demonstrated a link between the drugs Risperdal, Seroquel, and Zyprexa, and diabetes in adults. The study, considering the records of 19,878 veterans treated with older or new diabetes drugs between 1998 and 2001, showed a statistically significant rise in diabetes II among users of Risperdal and Zyprexa, which confirmed what several doctors had been reporting anecdotally for years. The FDA required the addition of diabetes risk information to Risperdal label in 2004.
- In August of 2013, a large-scale study published in JAMA Psychiatry demonstrated that children and adolescents who used Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, and Abilify, were also three times more likely to develop diabetes. In 2011, an FDA advisory panel had already urged further monitoring of diabetes risk in minors taking the drugs.
Even more troubling, however, is the allegation made by a whistle-blower during a Texas trial that Johnson & Johnson may have had access to three other studies (one as early as 1999) showing a link between diabetes and Risperdal and did not turn them over to the FDA.
Marketing Risperdal to minors
Johnson & Johnson has also marketed the drug for use in populations for which it was not approved. For instance, Risperdal was approved to treat irritability associated with autism in children and adolescents in October of 2006, and for children with schizophrenia, ages 13-17, and children with bipolar disorder, ages 10-17, in August of 2007. However, the company marketed the drug for use in children for many years prior to these dates.
If you or your child developed diabetes while taking Risperdal during the period when the drug was not approved for the use of minors, you may have a strong case against the company. The personal injury lawyers at The Sanders Firm can help to evaluate whether you have a viable case.
Risperdal lawsuits to date
To date, over 400 Risperdal lawsuits have been brought against Johnson & Johnson by patients who have developed serious side effects and have been victimized by the company’s questionable marketing practices.
Critical facts about Risperdal litigation:
- The first Risperdal lawsuit, which went to trial in Texas in 2012, resulted in a $158 million settlement for the plaintiff, who developed male breast growth after he started taking Risperdal at the age of 9, and included fines paid to the state of Texas and the federal government.
- Three more lawsuits – “bellwether” cases in a mass tort taking place in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court – also concluded with settlements.
- In November of 2013, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay over $2.2 billion (the third largest pharmaceutical settlement in U.S. history) in fines by the United States Department of Justice for the improper marketing of Risperdal.
- Risperdal class action lawsuits in several states (Arkansas, Louisiana, and South Carolina) have resulted in dramatic losses for the company.
However, Johnson & Johnson’s lawyers have managed to get the $1.1 billion and $258 million judgments in Arkansas and Louisiana overturned on a technicality. In order to go up against the lawyers for this powerful company, you need the conscientious, aggressive representation of The Sanders Firm to make sure you come out on top in your lawsuit.
At The Sanders Law Firm, Success Is A Tradition
Founded in 1967, The Sanders Law Firm has flourished into one of New York’s most successful personal injury practices, with an accomplished team of attorneys, paralegals, health care consultants, and support staff. Our trial attorneys take new cases on a contingency basis, which means there is no cost to the client unless we secure monetary damages on your behalf.
Our personal injury law firm continues to make its industry-leading legal services even better, and hire attorneys and staff that enable us to serve a more diverse population.
At The Sanders Firm, there is never any charge to evaluate your case. We have helped thousands of injured clients throughout New York City, Long Island, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, and we’re prepared to help you too. In just the last five years we have procured over $100 million dollars on behalf of our clients, thanks to our vast resources and experienced attorneys. Our personal injury law firm continues to make its industry-leading legal services even better, and hire attorneys and staff that enable us to serve a more diverse population.
To set up your free, no-obligation case review with a New York personal injury lawyer, please call (516) 591-3208 or contact us using our online form. Our friendly staff is standing by to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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The Sanders Law Firm is a New York personal injury practice with offices in Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.