A Philadelphia judge has upheld an $11 million jury verdict awarded to the parents of a child born with a severe cleft lip caused by the anti-seizure drug Topamax, which his mother took during pregnancy.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge George W. Overton denied Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ request for a new trial April 25. The jury in Powell v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals issued the award in favor of Haley Powell and Michael Gurley, the parents of Brayden Gurley, on Nov. 18, 2013. The verdict was divided into $335,000 for future health care expenses and $10.6 million for non-economic loss. Delay damages were added Dec. 3, in the amount of $700,294, bringing the total up to about $11.6 million.
