A consumer recently filed a lawsuit against Merck & Co., alleging that their Zostavax herpes zoster vaccine is defective and caused her injury.

Plaintiff Donna A. and her husband Willard A. recently filed a lawsuit against Merck & Co. Inc. and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., alleging that the herpes zoster vaccine caused her to develop shingles and other side effects.

Donna was administered the Zostavax herpes zoster vaccine In September 2016. Soon after receiving the herpes zoster vaccine, Donna developed a shingles rash on her midsection followed by a rash on her left eye, jaw and forehead. As a result, Donna then suffered from loss of hearing in one ear and palsy.

Zostavax is a herpes zoster vaccine intended to prevent shingles in individuals older than 60. The vaccine contains a weakened version of the varicella zoster virus which causes chickenpox and is thought to cause shingles.

However, the Zostavax lawsuit claims that the live virus in the herpes zoster vaccine is insufficiently weakened, causing a variety of side effects.

Patients like Donna have reported developing shingles rash whereas others have reported neurological side effects such as encephalitis, cerebrovascular accident, transverse myelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Bell’s palsy, ataxia, non-febrile seizures, aseptic meningitis, dizziness and paresthesia.

Most side effects reported by consumers seem to be related to the development of shingles and the adverse effects the condition can have on the nervous system.

“Other than postherpetic neuralgia, shingles can lead to other serious complications, such as scarring, bacterial superinfection, allodynia, cranial and motor neuron palsies, pneumonia, encephalitis, visual impairment, hearing loss, and death,” the Zostavax lawsuit reports.

Donna claims that, despite knowing about the potential side effects associated with their herpes zoster vaccine, Merck made no move to address the problem and provide crucial information to patients and physicians.

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

She also claims that the company knew about the side effects associated with their herpes zoster vaccine for years and destroyed or concealed evidence in order to hide the truth. Donna claims that Dr. David Gutsch MD, the director of regulatory affairs, destroyed files from 2014 to 2017 relevant to the first lawsuits against Merck.

Donna argues that Gutsch’s files were important to proving Merck’s liability in court and were wrongly destroyed, allowing the company to escape a verdict. This alleged destruction of evidence also harms Donna’s claims and hinders her attempts to hold Merck accountable.

The lawsuit accuses Merck of negligence, design defect, failure to warn, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, intentional spoliation of evidence, and loss of consortium. Donna seeks compensatory damages, restitution, disgorgement, punitive damages, economic damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees.

The Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00143-GMG in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.