By Amanda Antell  |  January 4, 2019

Category: Legal News

Patient Says Zostavax Led to Hearing Loss After VaccinationA man from California has recently filed a Zostavax lawsuit against Merck & Co., alleging the company failed to warn him about potential hearing loss after vaccination.

Plaintiff Darrell M. alleges the company failed to warn him and his physician against possible hearing loss after vaccination, which would have impacted his decision in agreeing to take the shot.

While the Zostavax shot is regularly implemented to older patients for routine health purposes, it has recently been alleged the vaccine comes with unreasonably dangerous post vaccination complications. Darrell says hearing loss after vaccination is a very rare complication with the Zostavax vaccine, but it should still be mentioned on the shot’s list of potential side effects.

According to his complaint, Darrell received the Zostavax vaccine in December 2016 to prevent shingles. However, Darrell had reportedly developed hearing loss after vaccination and has been contending with the long lasting effects of this ever since.

Darrell opted to file legal action after discovering other patients had suffered serious vaccine reactions, with similar claims eventually consolidating into a multidistrict litigation (MDL).

Overview of Zostavax Vaccine Reactions

The Zostavax vaccine is one of the most prevalent medical innovations in helping prevent the development of shingles, and is often prescribed to patients over the age of 50.

Shingles often appears as a painful skin rash. It is thought to be caused by an adverse reaction to the dormant chickenpox virus. This means that patients who have had chickenpox in their lives are likely to develop shingles as they grow older.

The Zostavax vaccine contains a weakened strain of chickenpox virus, which helps the immune system counteract early development of shingles. The virus may cause patients who receive the Zostavax injection to develop mild shingles rashes, which typically heal between two to four weeks.

However, patients have reportedly experienced much more serious complications such as rare instances of hearing loss after vaccination, blindness, brain inflammation, and even death.

These post vaccination complications had spurred the FDA to issue two black box warnings to the Zostavax warning label, with the label later expanded to include vision damage from eye inflammation in 2016.

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

Even though these vaccine reactions can be devastating to patients, Darrell says Merck had failed to warn the general public. According to the patient information that was available to Darrell at the time of his injection, potential vaccine side effects included headaches, local reactions to shingles injection, fever, joint pain, muscle pain, nausea, and even chickenpox or shingles development. He claims there was no language indicating potential hearing loss after vaccination, which could have helped prevent Darrell’s injuries.

Darrell’s Zostavax lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2848, where it will stand alongside other claims alleging serious vaccine reactions. Darrell is raising several claims in his Zostavax lawsuit, including counts of negligence and failure to warn.

By joining an MDL, Darrell’s claim will be streamlined through the litigation process and will avoid potential problems like conflicting rulings from different judges.

This Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05203-HB, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Join a Free Zostavax Shingles Vaccine Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

You may qualify to join a free Zostavax lawsuit investigation if you or a close relative were diagnosed with one of the following conditions within the past two years and within six months of being vaccinated with Zostavax:

  • Necrotizing retinitis
  • Ramsay Hunt
  • Vision loss or blindness documented by a doctor
  • Retinal uveitis leading to vision loss or blindness diagnosed by a doctor
  • Paralysis
  • Acute myelitis
  • Bell’s palsy
  • Encephalitis
  • Death from shingles or from any other condition on this list

Serious neurological disorders and hearing loss may also qualify. Fill out the form on this page now for a FREE case evaluation.

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