Autistic man wins $2.5M after meds gave him 46DD breasts
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Autistic man wins $2.5M after meds gave him 46DD breasts
Family says they weren't adequately warned of drug's side effects
PHILADELPHIA, Ala. —An autistic man has been awarded $2.5 million in a lawsuit against the makers of a medicine he used to treat his condition, which also caused him to grow 46DD breasts.
According to the lawsuit, Austin Pledger, 20, his family and his doctor were not adequately warned that the drug Risperdal could cause breast enlargement in men, reports Autismdailynewscast.com.
Risperdal is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The drug's label did contain a warning that Risperdal could cause gynecomastia, but the label was changed in 2006 to say the risk was higher than originally indicated, reports WENN.com.
Pledger started taking Risperdal when he was 8 years old. The only way to remove his breasts, says Pledger's lawyer, would be a mastectomy, reports Autismdailynewscast.com.
A Janssen spokesperson says the company was "disappointed" by the verdict, reports Autismdailynewscast.com, and that Risperdal's side effects were clearly indicated.