Merck & Co. and other named defendants currently face a Zostavax lawsuit filed by a man whose says the vaccine caused a shingles outbreak instead of preventing it.

Plaintiff David W. filed the Zostavax lawsuit in New Jersey federal court. The lawsuit was filed on July 10, 2018.

According to the Zostavax lawsuit, David received the Zostavax vaccine for to prevent shingles. However, he alleges that, as a direct result of the vaccine, he suffered a shingles outbreak in addition to lesions and a rash throughout various parts of his body and chronic pain.

According to the Zostavax lawsuit, David “suffered mental and emotional distress due to resulting physical limitations and seriousness of his condition.”

Damages he suffered include mental anguish, physical impairment and injury, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent and incurable injuries, according to the Zostavax lawsuit. He says he has also incurred economic harm and medical expenses.

The Zostavax lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including negligence, design defect, failure to warn, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.

Overview: Zostavax Lawsuit

A number of serious side effects and complications have reportedly been linked to the administration of the Zostavax shingles vaccine, including causing the very condition it was intended to prevent.

The Zostavax shingles vaccine is frequently administered to people over the age of 50. Its purpose is to help prevent shingles, a reactivation of the chickenpox virus in the body that causes a painful rash. For anyone who has had chickenpox, the reactivation of shingles is always a risk. The vaccine itself is made up of a weakened chickenpox virus that are supposed to aid the immune system to fight off shingles.

However, some patients have also complained as to how the vaccine may be too strong or potent. Reported side effects of the vaccine have included the following:

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

Additionally to what has been listed,  the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) reported side effects including brain damage, paralysis, and even death. Due to these side effects, the FDA mandated a black box warning to be placed on the vaccine’s labels. A black box warning is a strict warning only administered for the most serious of risks.

Other side effects further added through the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) have also included rashes, myalgina, anaphylactic reactions, necrotizing retinitis, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Lawsuits filed against the makers of the vaccine allege the drug maker inadequately informed the public of the adverse side effects of Zostavax, including the development of shingles.

The Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-11498-PGS-TJB, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.