Federal Jury Awards $8.2 Million to Compulsive Gambler in Mirapex Case

MINNEAPOLIS - A Milwaukee man who developed a pathological gambling condition while being treated with the drug Mirapex has been awarded more than $8 million dollars by a federal jury in Minnesota. Charbonneau v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., No. 06-1215 (D. Minn.).

Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota handed down the $8.2 million verdict July 31, holding manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer Inc. responsible for causing Gary Charbonneau to squander nearly $200,000 while feeding his gaming addiction. The bulk of the damages, $7.8 million, were punitive.

Charbonneau and his wife sued the drug …