Man grows jugs after taking Johnson and Johnson drugs
- 5 years ago
NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY — A jury in Philadelphia has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay up — $8 billion to be exact — to Nicholas Murray after he claimed that he grew breasts after taking an antipsychotic drug from the company's subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica.
Citing the lawsuit, the Irish Times reports that Murray was prescribed the drug Risperdal by doctors after he was diagnosed with autism at age 9 in 2003.
Risperdal is typically given to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but doctors are allowed to prescribe the drug if they think the patient is in need of it, the BBC reports.
Murray started taking the drug as prescribed, but he realized something was wrong when his chest started to swell and grow in size.
He sued Janssen Pharmaceutica in 2013, accusing them of not warning doctors about the risks of the drug and marketing it as a treatment for mental health disorders in kids.
Previously, a jury in 2015 ordered the company to pay Murry US$1.75 million dollars, finding the company negligent as they didn't warn consumers about the risks the drugs carried.
A state appeals court then reduced that amount to US$680,000, but upheld the verdict.
Now another jury has come up with the same verdict, but this time awarding $8 billion dollars in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson disagreed with the verdict and called it "grossly disproportionate," and said that they will appeal the ruling.
Citing the lawsuit, the Irish Times reports that Murray was prescribed the drug Risperdal by doctors after he was diagnosed with autism at age 9 in 2003.
Risperdal is typically given to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but doctors are allowed to prescribe the drug if they think the patient is in need of it, the BBC reports.
Murray started taking the drug as prescribed, but he realized something was wrong when his chest started to swell and grow in size.
He sued Janssen Pharmaceutica in 2013, accusing them of not warning doctors about the risks of the drug and marketing it as a treatment for mental health disorders in kids.
Previously, a jury in 2015 ordered the company to pay Murry US$1.75 million dollars, finding the company negligent as they didn't warn consumers about the risks the drugs carried.
A state appeals court then reduced that amount to US$680,000, but upheld the verdict.
Now another jury has come up with the same verdict, but this time awarding $8 billion dollars in punitive damages.
Johnson & Johnson disagreed with the verdict and called it "grossly disproportionate," and said that they will appeal the ruling.