Merck Hit with Two New Wrongful Death Suits Over Gardasil

 

Isabella Zuggi and Sydney Figueroa, before and after Gardasil

Last week, Wisner Baum's vaccine attorneys initiated two fresh wrongful death litigations. One was filed on behalf of a North Carolina mother, asserting that Merck's Gardasil HPV vaccine led to the demise of her 10-year-old daughter. The other lawsuit, representing a Pennsylvania mother, alleges that Gardasil caused the passing of her 12-year-old daughter. Both cases argue that the HPV vaccine triggered severe autoimmune and neurological complications, culminating in the tragic loss of their daughters.

Monique Alarcon, Bijan Esfandiari, Michael L. Baum, and Stephanie B. Sherman, attorneys specializing in Gardasil lawsuits, are representing Kristine Zuggi. Zuggi's daughter, Isabella, a vibrant fifth-grader, tragically passed away merely ten weeks following her Gardasil vaccination. Additionally, they're representing Lynne Guzman, whose 12-year-old daughter, Sydney Figueroa, became wheelchair-bound post-vaccination and sadly succumbed shortly thereafter.

The lawsuits target Merck & Co., Inc., a pharmaceutical powerhouse based in New Jersey, and its subsidiary, Merck Sharp & Dohme. The allegations are as follows:

1/ Merck consistently jeopardizes lives despite being fully aware of Gardasil's limited effectiveness and significant risks.

2/ Merck knowingly neglects to inform both the public and healthcare providers about the potential for injury or fatality associated with Gardasil.

3/ Merck is accused of perpetuating an aggressive propaganda campaign aimed at instilling fear and guilt in parents to compel them to vaccinate their children with Gardasil.

4/ Merck deliberately introduced a substantial risk of harm to children and patients who received Gardasil injections, thus justifying the awarding of punitive damages.

“The senseless deaths of these two beautiful young girls brings home the seriousness of the allegations against Merck in these cases–that the company has exaggerated the benefits of Gardasil as cancer preventative and ignored the risks, including death–all for the sake of the company’s bottom line” said Wisner Baum attorney, Monique Alarcon.

Isabella Zuggi, a vibrant 10-year-old who adored Harry Potter, received her first and only Gardasil injection on August 26, 2022, with no prior health concerns. Two weeks later, she began experiencing headaches, lethargy, stomach pains, body aches, and intermittent fevers. An infectious disease consult revealed she had MOG antibodies, associated with acute, inflammatory, demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system. The complaint alleges a link between MOG antibody disorders and several vaccines, including Gardasil, which research identifies as a common trigger for central nervous system demyelination. Isabella tragically passed away on November 5, 2022, with her death attributed to Acute Encephalitis Associated with Anti-MOG Antibody Production. Her mother, Kristine, regrets not being informed of Gardasil's potential risks and feels pressured by Merck's marketing tactics into vaccinating her daughter for cervical cancer protection.

Sydney Figueroa, aged 11 at her first Gardasil dose in December 2017 and 12 at the second, was an accomplished student and athlete, active in soccer, track, and band. Post-vaccination, she suffered from a plethora of debilitating symptoms including headaches, fatigue, and neurological issues, eventually leading to her confinement to a wheelchair and full-time care. Diagnosed with POTS, Tourette's Syndrome, and Functional Neurological Disorder, Sydney tragically passed away on June 2, 2021, due to a pulmonary embolism resulting from prolonged immobility caused by autoimmune diseases triggered by Gardasil. The wrongful death complaint contends that Julie Gerberding, then CDC Director, overlooked evidence of Gardasil's unproven efficacy and potential dangers during the regulatory process.

Sydney’s mother, Lynne, said, “Gardasil destroyed my daughter’s life. She fought for as long as she could but the injuries she suffered, ultimately, killed her. If I knew what I know now, I never would have let Sydney get the shots.”

Wrongful death complaints have been lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Case No. 3:22-md-03036-KDB). These cases are joining the Gardasil multidistrict litigation (In Re: Gardasil Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3036), which encompasses over 150 related cases awaiting resolution.

The press release can be read, in full, here.

Bob Fiddaman

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Previously on this blog

Baum Hedlund Take a Stand Against Vaccine Maker

Californian Law Firm Lead the Way in Gardasil Litigation

Fifth Gardasil Vaccine Lawsuit Filed

Gardasil Vaccine Can Cause Infertility, New Lawsuit Alleges

Gardasil Lawsuits Continue

Vaccine Manufacturer Used "Spiked" Placebo to Hide Injuries Between Vaccine and Control Groups, Lawsuit Alleges

The Gardasil Vaccine Lawsuits Keep Piling Up

"I don’t want this pain for other kids." ~ Victoria Trevisan, Gardasil Victim

Merck & Co Face Uphill Battle as Gardasil Lawsuits Consolidated

Parents of 13-year-old Boy File Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Vaccine Manufacturers, Merck

Judge Appoints Four Attorneys For Plaintiffs Damaged by Vaccine

Glendale Woman Files Suit Against Gardasil Manufacturer

Merck's Gardasil Adverse Events Databases To Be Released

Woman Develops Cervical Cancer After Gardasil Shots

TRIAL SET TO START ALLEGING BRAIN DAMAGE CAUSED BY ECT

 

Opening statements begin on Wednesday, May 31 in the trial of Jeffrey Thelen v. Somatics, LLC and Elektrika, Inc.

Jeffrey Thelen, a resident of Nebraska, underwent 95 ECT “treatments”, received between May 16, 2014, and July 25, 2016, which he alleges caused brain injuries and other harms. Thelen claims he sustained injuries, including brain injury, caused by Somatics’ ECT machine. The causes of action that will be tried are: (1) Strict Liability (Failure to Warn); and (2) Negligence. Somatics denies it was negligent and further denies that the ECT machine was defective as labeled.

The complaint, which can be read in full here, shows the injuries and on-going problems Thelen has endured. 

"The injuries Mr. Thelen sustained as a result of defendants’ shock treatment device, include but are not limited to, brain damage, neurocognitive injuries, severe permanent memory loss, significant decline in his ability to learn and recall information, a disruption and decline in his ability to encode new information, diminished quality of life, additional physical, physiological, psychological and emotional injuries and harms, and lost wages and earning capacity."

Thelen alleges that defendants negligently and intentionally concealed and failed to adequately disclose and warn about risks, including but not limited to, brain damage and permanent neurocognitive injuries associated with their shock treatment device. In addition to concealing risks, SOMATICS intentionally, recklessly and overtly misrepresented the safety and efficacy of the shock therapy device. 

ELEKTRIKA is a manufacturer and exclusive supplier of “Thymatron” ECT devices for SOMATICS. The lawsuit alleges ELEKTRIKA has failed to register with the FDA. 

SOMATICS stated on its website, “ECT remains the safest and most effective treatment for severe depression”. This is misleading and runs against what the FDA say about ECT. In fact, the FDA say the complete opposite, "...the long-term safety and effectiveness of ECT treatment has not been demonstrated.”

After settling an ECT brain injury litigation in 2018, SOMATICS revised its website to issue new warnings about adverse events associated with ECT and its Thymatron device – SOMATICS now for the first time warns on its website that, “in rare cases” ECT “patients may experience permanent memory loss or permanent brain damage.”

Prior to the settlement, SOMATICS, in a Patient Information Pamphlet, falsely stated that ECT does not cause brain injury, falsely stated that any memory loss issues are temporary and not permanent, falsely claimed that ECT actually improved memory and to further downplay the risks of ECT. The pamphlet, using spin, blamed the above adverse events as an 'underlying condition, other medications, and aging.'

According to Dr. Kenneth Castleman, biomedical electrical engineer and former Senior Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "...the amount of electric current that an ECT machine puts through a patient’s head is about 200 times what is considered dangerous for accidental electric shock, approximately 100 times what Tasers, cattle prods, and electric fences use, about the same as what is used for stunning pigs before slaughter, and roughly one-fifth as much as the electric chair. In addition, the amount of voltage applied to the head (460 volts) is about 400 times what is required to damage a single brain cell. Clearly this amount of electricity has the potential to cause injury to the brain.”.

This is definitely a trial to keep an eye on. Many people, including friends and followers of mine on Twitter, have been severely injured by ECT "treatment" and calls for those injuries to be acknowledged have been ignored, many safety advocates have often been ridiculed and called names for trying to raise ECT injury awareness.

I can't think of a better law firm than Wisner Baum to take on a case like this. I've been a fan of theirs since the early 2000s and have even attended one of their previous trials in Chicago (Dolin v GSK)

They get things done.

Period!

Attorneys for Mr. Thelen are Bijan Esfandiari and Monique Alarcon.

Bob Fiddaman

Merck's Gardasil Adverse Events Databases To Be Released

 

Merck forced to turn over all of its Gardasil adverse event databases.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr, recently ordered Merck to turn over all of its Gardasil adverse events databases to plaintiffs suing the pharmaceutical company for injuries allegedly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Regular readers of my blog will know I've been covering the Gardasil litigation for quite a while now (Links at the foot of this post)

The Gardasil adverse events databases have been held under lock and key by Merck and up until Conrad Jr's order they had refused to make the entire Merck Adverse Event Reporting and Review System (MARRS) databases available to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

In passing down his order, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr, said, “Plaintiffs’ and their experts should have the same opportunity as Merck to review and analyze the entirety of the data.”

Common sense, plus a strong legal argument from plaintiffs' attorneys Wisner Baum seems to have seen the light of day.

Wisner Baum have have filed dozens lawsuits on behalf of young people injured by Gardasil, alleging Merck knowingly and fraudulently concealed the vaccine’s risks. There are also 80 pending in the federal court system and that number is expected to increase. Senior Partner, Michael Baum said, “Access to this full database of adverse event reports should allow experts to better analyze the full extent of post-Gardasil autoimmune symptom clusters, and demonstrate there is a “statistically significant causal connection between Gardasil and autoimmune conditions.”

Source: Brenda Baletti Ph.D

U.S. District Judges often come under heavy criticism for, seemingly, siding with large corporate companies such as Merck. Robert J. Conrad, Jr's order and subsequent reasoning for placing such an order has to be applauded here.

Not only should Plaintiffs’ and their experts have access to adverse reactions, the general public should too. Hopefully this data will be made public. It's important in light of recent news that a bill has been introduced in Sacramento to require students entering the 8th grade to have the HPV vaccine. Such a bill, if granted without first seeing MARRS databases, can potentially put patients at risk, patients such as those listed in the links below.

Bob Fiddaman

Baum Hedlund Take a Stand Against Vaccine Maker

Californian Law Firm Lead the Way in Gardasil Litigation

Fifth Gardasil Vaccine Lawsuit Filed

Gardasil Vaccine Can Cause Infertility, New Lawsuit Alleges

Gardasil Lawsuits Continue

Vaccine Manufacturer Used "Spiked" Placebo to Hide Injuries Between Vaccine and Control Groups, Lawsuit Alleges

The Gardasil Vaccine Lawsuits Keep Piling Up

"I don’t want this pain for other kids." ~ Victoria Trevisan, Gardasil Victim

Merck & Co Face Uphill Battle as Gardasil Lawsuits Consolidated

Parents of 13-year-old Boy File Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Vaccine Manufacturers, Merck

Judge Appoints Four Attorneys For Plaintiffs Damaged by Vaccine

Glendale Woman Files Suit Against Gardasil Manufacturer

Name Change for Game Changers

Highly respected law firm, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, entering its 50th year representing clients, has a new managing partner and has now changed its name to Wisner Baum, LLP.

The move comes as the firm announced the retirement of long-time vice president, secretary, and senior shareholder, Ronald L. M. Goldman. The other named partners—Paul J. Hedlund and J. Clark Aristei—retired from the firm in 2018. Aristei sadly passed away in 2021.

Vice president R. Brent Wisner, Baum Hedlund’s lead trial attorney, will serve as Wisner Baum’s new managing partner. It's no surprise given Wisner's incredible track record of success in major cases after only 11 years of lawyering.

Wisner became the youngest lawyer in U.S. history to win a multi-billion-dollar verdict, which he achieved with a massive $2 billion jury verdict against Monsanto (Bayer) in 2019, less than a year after obtaining the first Roundup cancer verdict of $289 million against Monsanto in 2018. So far, he has negotiated mass tort settlements in excess of $1 billion.

With a plethora of awards and recognition behind him, Wisner said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this firm into its next chapter and eager to continue the legacy that Michael Baum, Paul Hedlund, Clark Aristei, and Ron Goldman built,” adding, “Standing on the shoulders of giants, and I am very optimistic that the firm’s best days are ahead of us.”

Michael Baum, who served as the firm’s managing partner from 1993 to 2022, will continue his work at Wisner Baum as one of the firm’s three senior partners.

Back in 2011, I visited the old offices of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman. I was in town to pick up an award and the BH office was a must see for me. I'd, up to that point, admired them from afar as I saw how they were successful in nailing Paxil manufacturers, GSK, to the mast, not only with settlements for plaintiffs but also in releasing previously unseen documents into the public domain.

I, quickly, became friends with Michael and his staff and was surprised that they knew of my work as a blogger and patient safety advocate.

In 2017, I travelled to Chicago to see Brent Wisner in action. Wisner was representing Wendy Dolin whose husband, Stewart, had tragically taken his own life due to the suicidal adverse effect of Paxil. Although the jury found for Dolin, this was later overturned by the Supreme Court. Nonetheless, Wisner was able to produce previously unseen documents and video deposition into the public domain. It was all very damning for GSK and, indeed, Paxil.

“Our ethos from the beginning was pure and simple: we wanted to use the law to help people who had been wronged and make the world a better place, ” adding, “As much as we have grown over the years, that philosophy has remained, and out of it grew a culture that has attracted talented lawyers like Brent who share the same mission. He is exactly the kind of lawyer and leader that will take this firm to new heights. Wisner Baum is in good hands.”

It's safe to say that this law firm are game changers when it comes to seeking justice against the huge corporate companies that have left thousands, if not millions, devastated by their illegal actions over the years. For that, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

Wisner Baum LLP can be followed on Twitter here, their website can be found here.

Bob Fiddaman