A Philadelphia court has awarded $2.5million to a man who grew 46DD breasts, after being prescribed a drug from the age of 8 years old.
The court ruled that Austin Pledger, who is now 20-years old, was ‘not adequately warned’ of the side effects of taking Risperdal which includes a chance of growing breasts.
The court heard how a family doctor prescribed the drug to Pledger in 2002 to help regulate his austistic behaviours. The drug was not approved for use in children by the FDA at the time, and the drug only contained low risk warnings as possible side effects.
Later in 2006, the FDA approved Risperdal as a drug suitable for schizophrenic aid for children, but this time the label warned of a heightened use of the hormone prolactin – a hormone which promotes breast growth.
By the time the new labels were administered, Pledger had begun to grow breasts – which he will now need to undergo a mastectomy to remove.
Following the success of his trial, Pledger’s lawyer Thomas Kline said:
"This trial is important publicly because it provided for the first time a window into the real risks of the drug.”
