Gardasil Vaccine Lawyers Are Applying for Leadership Positions in Recently Established MDL

As the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Gardasil lawsuits continues to establish the organizational structure for the recently formed MDL (multidistrict litigation), a number of lawyers have filed applications to serve in leadership positions and take actions during pretrial proceedings that will benefit all individuals pursuing claims over debilitating injuries caused by the HPV vaccine.

Gardasil has been widely recommended for all teens in recent years, as a vaccination to protect against HPV infections that can be sexually transmitted later in life, leading to the development of cervical cancer. However, a growing number of lawsuits are now being pursued against Merck, alleging that the drug maker withheld important safety information from families and the medical community, while promoting and pushing the wider use of their vaccine among children nationwide.

Each of the lawsuits involve similar claims that side effects of a Gardasil vaccine caused painful and debilitating complication to emerge shortly after the shot, often resulting in life-long autoimmune disorders, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), neurological problems and other symptoms.

Given common questions of fact and law, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) created a Gardasil MDL last month, and centralized the cases before U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad in the Western District of North Carolina for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

In advance of an initial status conference scheduled for October 11, Gardasil vaccine lawyers have submitted applications to serve in various leadership roles in the MDL, including co-lead counsel and liaison counsel positions.

If appointed, these attorneys would take certain actions during the litigation that benefit all cases, including conducting discovery and depositions into common issues that impact all claims, arguing motions before the court and potentially negotiating Gardasil settlements that establish a framework to resolve all claims. However, each individual plaintiff will still maintain their own Gardasil lawyer to meet various deadlines and establish a link between their specific injuries and the HPV vaccine, as well as negotiate any potential individual Gardasil lawsuit payout.

October 2022 Gardasil Lawsuit Update

As parties continue to prepare for the upcoming status conference in October 2022, Gardasil lawsuit position statements were filed by each side on September 20, outlining for Judge Conrad each side’s respective position on the litigation.

“Generally, Plaintiffs allege Merck failed to warn of Gardasil’s risks of inducing certain autoimmune and neurological injuries; Merck took steps to mask and downplay these risks; and Merck was also negligent in the way it conducted its clinical trials and post-marketing pharmacovigilance,” according to Plaintiffs’ position statement (PDF). “Plaintiffs further allege that, in its direct-to-consumer advertising to patients and parents, Merck misrepresented and overemphasized Gardasil’s efficacy while concealing Gardasil’s serious risks.”

In a separate Defendants’ position statement (PDF) filed the same day, Merck indicates that it intends to defend the cases on the basis that neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have detected any safety issues associated with the Gardasil vaccine.

There are currently about 50 Gardasil lawsuits filed against Merck according to the most recent update, with at least another 51 cases that have gone through the U.S. Vaccine Court and will likely be added to the MDL in the coming weeks. However, as Gardasil lawyers continue to investigate and file claims in the coming months, it is widely expected that several thousand claims will ultimately be included in the litigation.