A man from Florida recently filed a Zostavax lawsuit, which alleges he suffered shingle shot side effects soon after getting inoculated. This Zostavax lawsuit is joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), where it will join other claims alleging similar adverse vaccine reactions.

The Zostavax lawsuit states that plaintiff James M. filed legal action soon after discovering that Merck & Co. allegedly concealed the potentially devastating shingle shot side effects, which can cause long term disabling injuries.

According to the claim, James received the shot on Feb. 8. 2017 for typical shingles prevention and had no reason he was at risk for serious vaccine reactions.

However, James reportedly developed shingles and was later diagnosed with postherpetic neuralgia, which is a painful condition affecting the nerve fibers and skin.

According to Medical News Today, postherpetic neuralgia often causes intense burning or stabbing sensations, due to the nerve being irritated or stressed. While postherpetic neuralgia is a known side effect of shingles, the Zostavax vaccine has become recently associated with much more serious complications.

According to the Zostavax lawsuit, James has experienced a decreased quality of life due to the physical pain caused by his condition and has had to contend with the mental and emotional stress that comes along with it.

Furthermore, the Zostavax lawsuit alleges Merck failed to disclose the much more serious shingle shot side effects that could have occurred.

Overview of Zostavax Complications

The Zostavax shot was approved by the FDA in 2006 and was the primary inoculation against shingles for years until the recent release of Shingrix in October 2017.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that Shingrix “is the preferred vaccine” due to the serious side effects associated with Zostavax. The Zostavax vaccine is recommended for patients over the age of 50, with the CDC stating the vaccine has reduced the rate of shingles occurrences by 67 percent.

The Zostavax shot consists of a weakened chickenpox virus, which helps the immune system develop defenses against shingles. It is thought that shingles is caused by a dormant chickenpox virus, which becomes activated later in life. This means that if a person has had chickenpox in their lives, they have a chance of developing shingles.

According to the patient brochure, patients may experience localized vaccine reactions such as fever, joint pain, muscle pain, nausea, and chickenpox or shingles after receiving the shot. However, patients have reported incidents of blindness, paralysis, brain damage, and even death.

These reported side effects spurred the FDA to issue two black box warning changes to the Zostavax warning label, with the label also getting potential vision damage caused by eye inflammation added in 2016. Patients have been reportedly developing complications up to six months after receiving the shot.

Even though these Zostavax complications can be devastating to patients, Merck allegedly failed to disclose this information to patients. At all times relevant, James and his physicians had relied on the product information provided by Merck.

James’ Zostavax lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2848, where his claim will be streamlined through the litigation process. The claim is seeking multiple damages, including counts of negligence and failure to warn.

This Zostavax Lawsuit is Case 2:19-cv-01476-HB, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania.