A woman from Oregon recently filed a Merck shingles lawsuit, alleging her vaccination with Zostavax failed to prevent her from developing shingles.

The Merck shingles lawsuit states that the company failed to disclose the full scope of the potential side effects the Zostavax injection could cause.

This Merck shingles lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Cindy M., who had received the Zostavax injection for typical treatment purposes in August 2016. Before this, Cindy says she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2012 and had to exercise much more caution with her health compared to a patient without the disease.

With this in mind, Cindy had consulted her physician about the potential side effects the Zostavax could cause or if they would compound her condition.

According to the Zostavax patient brochure provided by Merck, patients can potentially experience headaches, localized vaccine reaction, joint or muscle pain, nausea, and even shingles or chickenpox development.

With this information, Cindy says she agreed to have the Zostavax vaccine injected to prevent shingles in August 2016. According to the Merck shingles lawsuit, Cindy reportedly developed a severe rash on the upper right portion of her torso and was diagnosed with shingles in October 2016.

Cindy has had to contend with the added complication of shingles in her life and opted to file this Merck shingles lawsuit action after discovering that the company may not have disclosed how likely the risks of vaccine reactions were.

Overview of Zostavax Complications

It has been alleged that Merck had produced Zostavax injections that contained live viruses that were too strong for some patients. The Zostavax injection is supposed to contain a weak chickenpox strain that is meant to help prepare the body’s immune system to counteract shingles.

Shingles is caused by a reaction to a dormant chickenpox virus, with patients having had chickenpox in the past facing an increased risk of shingles. The Zostavax injection is typically prescribed to patients over the age of 50 and is a regular part of many patients’ health routines.

However, patients have been alleged developing serious Zostavax side effects in patients up to six months after having the vaccine injected. The FDA has reportedly received injury reports including blindness, paralysis, brain damage, and death, which prompted major concern from the federal agency.

The FDA had issued two black box warnings to the Zostavax warning label to include these complications and later added to vision damage caused by eye inflammation in 2016. In addition, patients submitted injury reports like gastrointestinal disorders and allergic reactions to the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Even though these complications can cause long-term health complications in patients, patients accuse Merck of failing to give them a proper warning. At all times relevant, Cindy and her physician relied on the product information and marketing statements provided by the company.

Cindy states she would not have agreed to have the Zostavax injection if she had known the scope of the potential side effects.

This Merck Shingles Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-03916-RBS, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.