Bells Palsy Lawsuit Filed Against Gardasil HPV Vaccine Manufacturers Over Failing to Warn About Risk

The makers of Gardasil face a Bell’s palsy lawsuit brought by an Illinois man, indicating that side effects of the HPV vaccine caused autoimmune disorders and paralysis of his facial muscles, indicating that doctors and consumers should have been warned about the risk.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Adrian Montano in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on November 7, naming the vaccine manufacturer Merck & Co. as the defendant.

Merck introduced Gardasil in 2006, for vaccination against HPV infections, which can be sexually transmitted and lead to the later development of cervical cancer. The injection has been promoted for use among both young girls and boys before sexual activity, and is now recommended by most medical providers, since they believed it carries few, if any, serious side effects.

However, Montano and a growing number of other individuals are now pursuing Gardasil HPV vaccine lawsuits alleging that Merck actively concealed potential problems throughout the clinical trial stage of the drug’s development, and continues to hide information about the risks to this day.

Montano, of Illinois, was 38 when he received his first Gardasil injection for prevention of IPV, according to the lawsuit. However, after the injection, he began experiencing headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and loss of facial muscle control.

“As the months progressed, so did Plaintiff’s injuries. Plaintiff was hospitalized and diagnosed with Bells Palsy,” the lawsuit states. “When Plaintiff was able to retorn to work following some time after his hospitalization, he was unable to perform his regular job duties as a painter.”

Bell’s palsy is a condition that leads to facial muscle weakness or paralysis, often the result of damage to the facial nerve. Treatment is often through the use of steroids in new cases of the condition. The sooner the treatments can begin, the higher the probability of recovering nerve function. Antiviral drugs and pain killers are also often prescribed to help treat the condition.

November 2023 Gardasil Lawsuit Update

Montano’s complaint will be consolidated with about 100 other similar Gardasil HPV vaccine lawsuits currently pending in the federal court system, which have been centralized as part of a Gardasil MDL (multidistrict litigation) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

There are also a substantial number of additional claims pending in the U.S. Vaccine Court, where families must initially bring a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, before they are able to bring a civil lawsuit if the claim is not resolved within eight months.

Given common questions of fact and law presented in the HPV vaccine lawsuits, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, which is expected to involve a series of early bellwether trials designed to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

While the parties work to prepare a group of Gardasil cases for trial, injury lawyers are continuing to investigate and file new lawsuits for individuals who experienced a variety of complications from the HPV vaccine, including:

• Autoimmune Diseases
• POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
• Premature Ovarian Failure
• Premature Menopause
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
• Irregular Heartbeat/Tachycardia
• Lupus
• Neurologic Disorder
• Brain Fog or Chronic Inability to Concentrate
• Chronic Fatigue
• Chronic Pain
• Severe Headaches
• Difficulty Sleeping
• Fibromyalgia
• Nerve Damage
• Menstrual Disorders/Problems
• Gastrointestinal Issues (food intolerances, nausea, vomiting)

Following coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials in the federal MDL, if the parties fail to reach Gardasil settlements or another resolution for the litigation, Judge Conrad may later establish a process to begin remanding each individual claim back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates in the future.