Lawsuit Claims HPV Vaccine Led to POTS Diagnosis, Loss of Active Life

A Michigan woman claims she developed postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) from the HPV vaccine Gadasil, which has left her unable to work or engage in any strenuous activity.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Emily Haas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on October 18, seeking to hold the manufacturer Merck & Co., Inc. responsible for failing to disclose known risks associated with its widely used HPV vaccine Gardasil.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gardasil in 2006, as the first vaccination against HPV infections, which can be sexually transmitted and lead to the development of cervical cancer.

Over the past two decades, the HPV vaccine has been aggressively promoted by Merck for use among both young girls and boys before sexual activity, and has become widely recommended by medical providers throughout the U.S., since they believed it carries few, if any, serious side effects.

However, a growing number of parents and young adults are now pursuing HPV vaccine lawsuits against Merck, claiming that the manufacturer withheld information about the risk of autoimmune disease problems from Gardasil, such as POTS, chronic fatigue syndrome, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and other debilitating conditions, which leave otherwise healthy and active young children with serious disabilities.

Haas indicates she was 21 years old when she received her first Gardasil injection, after which she began to suffer from abdominal pain, dizziness, loss of appetite and irregular heart rate. Over the course of several months, her condition worsened, and she had to see multiple specialists and physicians who tried to determine the cause.

According to the lawsuit, Haas was ultimately diagnosed with POTS and other autoimmune, autonomic and neurological dysfunctions.

“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 has been unable to work, engage in any strenuous exercise, and her condition has impacted her ability to drive a car.”

POTS is a condition that leads to a very low volume of blood being pumped to the heart after an individual stands up from a lying down position. It causes lightheadedness, fainting, rapid heartbeat, trouble focusing, and exhaustion.

Haas’s lawsuit blames her injections, and the HPV vaccine’s formulations, for her illness.

“While Gardasil causes immune hyperactivation and production of anti-HPV antibodies to fend off certain strains of the HPV virus, it can also result in the immune system losing its ability to differentiate human proteins from foreign proteins, causing the immune system to attack the body’s own proteins and organs,” Haas’s lawsuit states. “Because of the massive peptide commonality between HPV and human proteins, the indiscriminate attack triggered by Gardasil adjuvants will cause massive cross-reactions and dangerous attacks against human proteins, leading to a number of autoimmune diseases manifested throughout the different organs of the body. This process is sometimes referred to as ‘molecule mimicry’.”

The lawsuit presents claims for negligence, failure to warn, manufacturing defect, breach of express warranty and common law fraud.

October 2023 Gardasil HPV Vaccine Lawsuit Update

Haas’s case will be consolidated with about 100 other similar lawsuits over the HPV vaccine 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.