Many people receive the Zostavax vaccine to help combat the painful shingles virus. In fact, it is often recommended for patients over the age of 60. However, Zostavax may actually cause patients to contract the virus, as well as suffer from other life-threatening and debilitating injuries, including blindness, brain damage, and even death.
Were you or a loved one diagnosed and treated for shingles after receiving a vaccination? If so, call an attorney today. A Zostavax lawyer could help you seek justice, get the compensation you deserve, and hold the vaccine’s manufacturers accountable. Call a Lafayette Defective Drugs Lawyer today to schedule your free consultation.
What is the Zostavax Vaccine?
Shingles—also known as herpes zoster—is a viral infection that affects nerve fibers and skin, causing a painful, itchy, and blistering rash. Specifically, it is caused by the Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox in children and young adults. Shingles occur mostly in people over the age of 50 when the dormant chickenpox virus reactivates in the body.
In order to prevent shingles, the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. developed the Zostavax vaccine for patients 50 years and older. The vaccine—which was the only FDA-approved shingles vaccine in the U.S. until 2017—is a live form of the virus, meaning it contains a weakened shingles virus that helps boost the body’s immune system and increases the recipient’s ability to fight off the real shingles virus.
Unfortunately, the vaccine may, in fact, be to blame for patients getting shingles. This can lead to serious complications, especially since patients receiving the immunization are older and more susceptible to other injuries like infections, pneumonia, and vision loss.
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Zostavax Dangerous Side Effects and Potential Damages
Not only can Zostavax actually cause shingles, which brings with it pain, discomfort, and expensive medical bills, but the vaccine may also cause a wide range of other unwelcome side effects and even serious complications, such as:
- Muscle and joint pain
- Blindness and eye disorders
- Liver failure
- Brain damage
- Facial paralysis
- Hearing loss
- Lymph node disease
- Death
Zostavax lawyers have already filed lawsuits against Merck & Co. claiming that the company may have known about the risks involved with the vaccination and intentionally promoted the vaccine based on false and misleading information about its benefits while downplaying its risks. Since Zostavax does not prevent herpes zoster as Merck claims and actually may cause the very condition it is meant to treat, patients filing a lawsuit may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, mental anguish, pain and suffering, and more. You can speak with a Lafayette personal injury lawyer to help you pursue compensation.
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Eligibility for Filing a Zostavax Lawsuit
To qualify for filing a claim against the makers of Zostavax, patients must have received the vaccine after 2006 and been diagnosed with shingles at least three weeks later. It is also possible for patients to file a lawsuit if they have experienced any of the following injuries up to two years of the date of vaccination:
- Brain inflammation like encephalitis and meningitis that causes severe headaches, flu-like symptoms, and confusion
- Nerve disorders such as Herpetic Neuralgia and Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Postherpetic neuralgia or burning pain that continues even after shingles blisters have healed
- Pneumonia
- Facial paralysis through Bell’s Palsy and/or Ramsay Hunt Syndrome
- Eye damage, including blindness and cornea inflammation
- Congestive heart failure
Consider enlisting the assistance of a Zostavax attorney to find out more about eligibility requirements and get started with the legal process.
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Get Legal Assistance from a Zostavax Attorney
A knowledgeable Zostavax lawyer should know how to navigate complicated mass tort matters and stand up to large pharmaceutical companies to help you get the compensation they deserve. If you received the Zostavax injection and ended up getting shingles or suffering a serious injury like blindness or liver failure, give an attorney a call today to find out how they could help you.
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