Pa. Appeals Court Reinstates Punitive Damages Claim in Risperdal Gynecomastia Action

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania appeals court has reinstated a claim for punitive damages in a Risperdal gynecomastia case, remanding the issue so the trial court can determine whether the law of the plaintiff’s home state applies.

In a Jan. 8 opinion, the Pennsylvania Superior Court also rejected Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s argument that the $535,106 jury verdict was not supported by the evidence, ruling that the plaintiff sufficiently established that the company’s inadequate warnings proximately caused his injuries.

Timonthy Stange, a Wisconsin resident who suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, was prescribed Risperdal when he was 12 in 2006. He was subsequently diagnosed …