PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Four men, one from South Jersey, filed separate mass tort claims against the makers of

the antipsychotic drug Risperdal at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas last week alleging each developed Gynecomastia, or the development of enlarged breast tissue in males, as a result of having taken the medication.

The defendants in each suit are drug maker Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals and various company subsidiaries.

All four lawsuits, which were filed as short-form complaints in the master Risperdal Litigation, were filed by attorneys Stephen A. Sheller, Jamie L. Sheller and Brian J. McCormick, Jr., of the Philadelphia firm Sheller P.C.

The first complaint was filed on behalf of Corey Hatcher, a Kentucky resident who claims he became injured after ingesting Risperdal from June 2010 through August 2011.

The second complaint was filed on behalf of Sean Toomey of Mount Laurel, N.J.

Toomey claims he developed Gynecomastia after taking Risperdal from 2009 through January of this year.

The third lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Chicago resident identified only by his initials, “A.C.”

The plaintiff in the case claims he developed the enlarged breast tissue after taking the antipsychotic drug beginning in 2004. He stopped taking Risperdal earlier this year.

The final civil action was filed on behalf of another man identified only by his initials, “K.H.,” of Little Rock, Arkansas.

K.H. developed Gynecomastia after taking Risperdal from 2006 until this year, the suit states.

Each of the complaints accuse the defendants of negligence, fraud, strict product liability, breach of express and implied warranties, unfair and deceptive trade practices, conspiracy, and violations of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

The plaintiffs in each suit seek compensatory and punitive damages along with medical expenses incurred by the parents of the plaintiffs given their ages at the time of their respective diagnoses.

 

The case ID numbers are 120503969, 120503970, 120503978 and 120503980.