Janssen Says Preemption Applies to La. Claim Linking Diabetes to Risperdal

LAFAYETTE, La. - Janssen Pharmaceutica said on May 25 that a Louisiana woman's claim alleging that the company's antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, caused her son to contract diabetes is preempted by federal law and barred by the statute of limitations. Smith v. Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. No. 6:05-cv-0703 (W.D. La.).

Plaintiff Lashondra Smith sued Janssen on April 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. She claims her son, Michael White, developed Type I diabetes after he took Risperdal (risperidone) from 1996 to 2003. She says that Michael suffered extreme pain, emotional distress, mental anguish and disability of …