Information About Gardasil Vaccine Injury Claims To Be Outlined on Plaintiff Fact Sheets

The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Gardasil lawsuits is requiring each claimant to complete a Plaintiff Fact Sheet, providing information about the injuries they experienced after receiving the HPV vaccine, which will help guide the selection of potential bellwether lawsuits that will serve as early test cases in the growing litigation.

Gardasil is a widely used vaccine commonly administered to teens and young adults before they are sexually active to protect against HPV infections, which can be sexually transmitted later in life and lead to the development of cervical cancer.

While it has been marketed as safe and effective, a growing number of Gardasil vaccine injury claims have been filed against Merck in recent months, alleging that the drug maker failed to adequately disclose the risk of permanent and debilitating side effects, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), neurological problems, premature ovarian failure and other complications.

Each of the lawsuits involve similar allegations, claiming that Merck knew about risks associated with the HPV vaccine and withheld important safety information from families and the medical community, while promoting and pushing the wider use of their vaccine among children nationwide.

Given common questions of fact and law, the federal Gardasil litigation has been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings in the Western District of North Carolina.

Judge Conrad is currently in the process of establishing a bellwether process, where small groups of representative vaccine injury claims will go through case-specific discovery in preparation for early trial dates, to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony which will be repeated throughout the litigation.

Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS) Required in Each Gardasil Vaccine Injury Lawsuit

On March 10, Judge Conrad issued an order (PDF), calling for plaintiffs to complete a four-part form in reach case. Every plaintiff, present and future, will be required to complete the fact sheets, which will include basic information about their Gardasil vaccine injury claim, relevant medical and pharmacy records, records pertaining to their vaccination, and other documents relevant details.

Plaintiff Fact Sheets are commonly used in complex mass tort litigation, where large numbers of individuals are pursuing claims against the makers of the same product, involving similar injuries or claims.

The order calls for the Plaintiff Fact Sheets to be divided into four parts, the first part of which was due for those who already filed Gardasil lawsuits on March 9. The second part of the Fact Sheets are due to be filed by March 30, and the third part by April 20. The fourth section, reserved for cases selected for the bellwether trial pool, are due within 30 days of the case being selected as a potential trial claim.

For future cases not yet filed, the first part of the Plaintiff Fact Sheet will be due 40 days after the complaint is filed. The second section will be due within 60 days of filing, and the third part will be due within 75 days of the complaint being filed. As with the other cases, those selected for the bellwether pool will have 30 days to fill out the fourth part of the sheet after their case is selected as a possible early test trial.

Claimants that fail to file a Plaintiff Fact Sheet in a timely manner could have their lawsuit dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could refile their claim with a completed fact sheet.

March 2023 Gardasil Lawsuit Update

As parties continue to work with the Court on the organizational structure of the Gardasil vaccine litigation over the remainder of 2023, lawyers continue to investigate and file lawsuits for individuals who experienced a variety of complications linked to Gardasil side effects, 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 held to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence that will be repeated throughout the claims, if the parties fail to reach Gardasil vaccine settlements or another resolution for the litigation, each individual claim may later be set for individual trial dates in the future.