HPV Vaccine Caused POTS, Fibromyalgia and Other Complications, Gardasil Lawsuit Alleges

According to allegations raised in a Gardasil lawsuit recently filed by a Pennsylvania woman, side effects of the HPV vaccine caused POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), fibromyalgia and other injuries to develop after receiving only one injection.

Soriely Flores filed the complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on May 19, indicating Merck & Co. failed to adequately warn patients and the medical community about the long-term health risks that may be caused by Gardasil vaccinations.

Gardasil was first introduced in 2006, for prevention of 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, as a safe and effective vaccination to prevent the development of cervical cancer among women.

Although families and medical providers were led to believe Gardasil was safe, a number of problems have reported in recent years, and Merck now faces nearly 100 Gardasil lawsuits alleging that the HPV vaccine caused autoimmune problems, including POTS, gastroparesis and other debilitating side effects, which have emerged shortly after receiving the injection. Plaintiffs claim that these injuries could have been avoided if the drug maker had adequately researched the HPV vaccine and disclosed the potential risks.

Flores indicates she was 28 when she received her first injection of Gardasil in August 2020. The lawsuit indicates that in the months that followed the HPV vaccine, she began to suffer from weakness, balance problems, headaches, elevated heart rates, and difficulty walking, insomnia, dizziness, fainting, chronic pain and many other health problems.

She was diagnosed with POTS and fibromyalgia, which have severely impacted her quality of life.

“As a result of her post-Gardasil symptoms, Plaintiff has been unable to engage in activities that a normal young person would enjoy,” the lawsuit states. “She can no longer walk long distances or work out. She spent months in bed due to her symptoms but was not able to sleep and suffered severe insomnia.”

Flores indicates she agreed to receive the HPV vaccine injection because of Merck’s constant marketing that Gardasil was safe and effective at preventing cervical cancer. However, the lawsuit, and similar claims filed nationwide, say Merck knew about problems with the vaccine as early as the clinical trials.

“Merck’s own preliminary studies predicted that Gardasil would kill and injure far more Americans than the HPV virus, prior to the introduction of the vaccine,” the lawsuit states. “The death rate among vaccine recipients was 13.3 per 10,000, or 133 per 100,000. To put this in perspective, the death rate from cervical cancer in the United States is 2.3 per 100,000 women. This means that, according to Merck’s own data, a girl is 58 times more likely to die from Gardasil than from cervical cancer.”

Flores’ lawsuit presents claims of negligence, failure to warn, manufacturing defect, breach of express warranty, common law fraud, and violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

June 2023 Gardasil Lawsuit Update

The case will be consolidated with all other similar lawsuits filed over the HPV vaccine 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.

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 cases for trial, Gadasil 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 lawsuit 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.