HPV Vaccine Side Effects Caused Heart Palpitations, Autoimmune Problems, Gardasil Lawsuit Claims

After receiving three Gardasil HPV vaccine injections, an Idaho woman developed POTS and an autoimmune condition, which resulted in numbness and discoloration in her hands and feet.

An Idaho woman has brought a product liability lawsuit against the makers of Gardasil, alleging that the HPV vaccine left her with multiple autoimmune problems, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and Raynaud’s disease, causing her to experience life-changing side effects.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Jordan Aguilar in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on March 6, indicating that Merck & Co. failed to adequately evaluate the potential Gardasil HPV vaccine side effects or provide adequate warnings about the long-term health risks for users and the medical community.

Gardasil was introduced by Merck in 2006, and has been widely used to protect against HPV infections, which can be sexually transmitted and lead to the later development of cervical cancer. The Gardasil 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, this case now joins a growing number Gardasil lawsuits being pursued against the manufacturer, alleging that Merck has withheld information about permanent and life-changing autoimmune side effects linked to the HPV vaccination, including POTS, premature ovarian failure, premature menopause, idiopathic thrombocyteopenic purpora (ITP), chronic pain, brain fog, fatigue, headaches and nerve damage.

According to the lawsuit, Aguilar was 19 when she received her first of three doses of Gardasil in August 2018. The lawsuit indicates she agreed to receive the injections because of Merck’s marketing that the HPV vaccine was safe and would help protect her from cervical cancer.

Aguilar received her third and final injection in March 2019, but by June of that year she began experiencing heart palpitations, shaky hands, as well as numbness and color changes in her hands and feet. She also suffered unsteadiness, lightheadedness and dizziness upon standing.

“Her numbness, heart palpitations, and dizziness progressively got worse,” the lawsuit states. “Her doctors noted that in addition to the foregoing, she had gravity dependent discoloration and purple coloring of upper and lower extremities and that palpitations were accompanied by blurred vision, nausea, weakness, Vertigo, shakiness and unsteadiness among other symptoms.”

Doctors diagnosed Aguilar with POTS, autonomic dysfunction and Raynauld’s disease; a condition that causes parts of the body to feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures or stress. She now claims the problems are a direct result of undisclosed side effects linked to the HPV vaccine.

Her lawsuit presents claims against the drug manufacturer for negligence, failure to warn, manufacturing defect, breach of express warranty and common law fraud.

March 2024 Gardasil Lawsuit Update

Aguilar’s Gardasil lawsuit will be consolidated with similar complaints brought throughout the federal court system over side effects linked to the HPV vaccine, 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.

According to a docket report (PDF) issued on March 1, there are currently at least 143 complaints involving Gardasil POTS injuries and other autoimmune side effects pending in the federal court system. 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 Gardasil injection lawsuits, the cases were originally assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad for 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.

However, last month the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation reassigned the pretrial proceedings to U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell, Sr., who is also assigned to the Western District of North Carolina. The order did not state the reason for the change in judges.

While the parties continue to 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.