Plaintiffs Marvin and Debora P. have initiated a Zostavax lawsuit against Merck, alleging that the shingles vaccine is given to patients without appropriate warning of the possible side effects and medical problems they may experience after receiving it.

The vaccine is often recommended to vulnerable populations like senior citizens. The promotional materials say that the vaccine reduces the risk of contracting shingles. As alleged in the couple’s Zostavax lawsuit, however, the patient could end up getting shingles anyway.

Marvin says he received the Zostavax vaccine in February 2015 based on his understanding that it would prevent shingles, according to the Zostavax lawsuit. The plaintiff alleges he had not had a shingles outbreak until that point in time. As a direct result of the vaccine, according to the Zostavax lawsuit, Marvin developed shingles and suffered emotional and mental distress.

Both Marvin and his wife say they have incurred economic harm and medical expenses as a result of the Zostavax vaccine. They allege that other consumers might be at risk from suffering similar side effects due to the lack of information about the vaccine.

The Zostavax lawsuit alleges that a shingles prevention study conducted by Merck was the primary scientific evidence that enabled the company to receive FDA approval for their vaccine.

The Zostavax lawsuit says that Merck failed to exercise appropriate care in the formulation, design, manufacture, quality assurance, testing, sale, labeling, promotions, marketing and distribution of the shingles vaccine because the company should have known that the product could lead to viral infections.

The couple alleges that many of the consumers who opted to receive the Zostavax vaccine were of compromised health or were elderly and thought they were protecting themselves from a possible shingles outbreak that could have severe medical side effects, contends the lawsuit.

The Zostavax lawsuit says that the plaintiffs were not able to make informed decisions about receiving the vaccine to begin with because Merck failed to fully disclose the risks to them and others.

Since patients who might be most at risk from suffering from shingles are more likely to get the vaccine anyway, lawsuits against the manufacturer claim that the company hasn’t done enough to make possible recipients aware of the dangers in advance.

The Zostavax lawsuit says that the manufacturer knew or should have known that consumers would suffer injuries or side effects as a result of receiving a vaccine that they thought would help them.

There are numerous causes of action named in the Zostavax lawsuit, including design defect, failure to warn and breach of express warranty. The Zostavax lawsuit says that patients who received this vaccine would have no reason to believe that it could significantly increase their chances of contracting shingles and suffering the related side effects as a result.

The Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-13936; filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The Zostavax shingles vaccine contains a live virus which is allegedly too potent for certain individuals.

This has resulted in an adverse shingle shot reaction for individuals within 0 to 6 months of having the Zostavax shingles vaccine administered.

Possible shingle vaccine side effects include:

• Shingles after vaccine
• Myelitis (spinal cord inflammation)
• Postherpetic neuralgia (pain continuing after shingles blisters subside)
• Vision problems (blindness; eye infections; retinal damage)
• Hearing loss
• Autoimmune disorders (Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating, Polyneuropathy, Meniere’s Disease, etc.)
• Stroke
• Cardiovascular event
• Congestive heart failure
• Pneumonia
• Bell’s Palsy (facial paralysis)
• Serious neurological disease/disorder
• Vasculitis

Although injuries typically occur within the first 0 to 6 months after receiving the vaccine, long-term injuries including neurological damage have also been reported.

Filing a Zostavax lawsuit could help recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, permanent disability, wrongful death, and more.

Overview: Zostavax Shingles Vaccine

The Zostavax shingles vaccine is an immunization used for the prevention of shingles in people over the age of 50. The vaccine contains a weakened chickenpox virus and helps the immune system protect against the development of shingles, which is thought to be caused by a reaction to the dormant chickenpox virus.

According to the patient information sheet released by Merck, reported shingle vaccine side effects include headaches, local reaction to shingles injection, fever, joint pain, muscle pain, nausea, and chickenpox or shingles after the vaccine.

However, other more severe side effects have been reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of blindness, paralysis, brain damage, and death, prompting the federal agency to issue two black box warning changes to Zostavax labels. In 2016, the drug’s warnings were expanded to include potential vision damage caused by inflammation of the eye.

Other adverse reactions reported the to FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) include gastrointestinal disorders, rashes, arthralgia, myalgia, anaphylactic reactions, and necrotizing retinitis.

Zostavax Lawsuits

Lawsuits regarding the Zostavax shingles vaccine have been filed in federal and state courts alleging that the vaccine causes serious adverse side effects.

The first Zostavax lawsuit was filed in February 2017 in a Philadelphia court by a woman alleging that she experienced headaches, dizziness, and blurred vision as a reaction to shingles injection. In the long term, she continued to suffer from vision problems in her right eye, elevated blood pressure, headaches, and dizziness.

The Zostavax complaint mentions the numerous reports made to the FDA regarding adverse side effects since the vaccine’s release in 2006.

The lawsuit claims that Merck failed to properly inform the public of the risk of developing shingles and other serious side effects from the vaccine.

“Despite this information and the potential correlation between being administered the Zostavax vaccine and developing an infection within a relatively short period of time, leading to the development of shingles or varicella­zoster virus pneumonia, Merck failed to properly address and provide this information both to patients and the medical providers prescribing the vaccine,” the Zostavax lawsuit states.