A growing number of patients are filing lawsuits after suffering from a severe reaction to shingles injection Zostavax.

One recent lawsuit filed over one woman’s reaction to shingles injection Zostavax alleges that the drug’s manufacturer, Merck & Co., failed to warn about the risks associated with its drug.

Plaintiff Carolyn A. of Florida was inoculated with the Zostavax vaccine in December 2008. The injection was meant to prevent herpes zoster (shingles) in the long term. Unfortunately, in June 2015, Carolyn was diagnosed with herpes zoster and had to receive treatment, including a number of drugs, in order to manage her painful reaction to shingles injection.

Even though she had been inoculated with Zostavax vaccine, she claims, she still ended up suffering from shingles. She alleges in her lawsuit that this is a direct result of inoculation with the vaccine, claiming that it is actually a very severe strain of the disease caused by her reaction to shingles injection.

Not only has this reaction to shingles injection been painful, but it has also required her to undergo further medical treatment, incurring significant medical expenses, the lawsuit claims.

Had she been given adequate warning about the risks associated with the vaccine, Carolyn claims, she would have chosen a safer alternative and avoided the risks.

Carolyn filed her Zostavax lawsuit on multiple counts, including negligence, defective design, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and several others. The lawsuit was filed on March 23, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

Lawsuits allege that Merck & Co., in failing to warn the public and the medical community about these risks, placed company profit over patient safety.

Background of Zostavax

Zostavax was first introduced to the market in May 2006 with its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Zostavax vaccine is manufactured by Merck & Co., approved to prevent shingles (herpes zoster) in patients 60 and up. Zostavax is, essentially, a stronger version of Merck’s chickenpox vaccine, Varivax.

Unfortunately, the use of the Zostavax vaccine has been associated with a serious and even dangerous complication: the development of the very problem it is meant to prevent.

Risk of Reaction to Shingles Injection

Zostavax’s information sheet includes warnings of side effects like headaches, fever, joint pain, and nausea, but patients have also reported major side effects after use of Zostavax that were not initially included in the warnings, including blindness, paralysis, brain damage, and death. Since then, the FDA has updated the drug’s warnings to include vision damage from eye inflammation.

Side effects of Zostavax usually appear between 0 and 6 months after the vaccine is administered, though long-term injuries like neurological damage are also possible.

Filing a Zostavax Shingles Injection Lawsuit

If you or someone you love have suffered from a reaction to shingles injection Zostavax, you may be able to file a shingles vaccine lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by these side effects, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.

The Zostavax Reaction to Shingles Injection Lawsuit is Case No. 4:18-cv-00155-MW-CAS, in the U.S. District Court for the Tallahassee Division of the Northern District of Florida.