Lawsuit Alleges Gardasil Caused Young Woman's Terminal Cervical Cancer

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wisner Baum filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the federal Gardasil multidistrict litigation alleging the HPV vaccine caused a young woman to develop terminal cervical cancer. The lawsuit ( Case No. 3:24-cv-00220 ) joins 180 claims filed in the Gardasil MDL before U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell in North Carolina. It is the fourth case in the MDL to allege Gardasil caused cervical cancer. Two additional cervical cancer claims are pending in Vaccine Court.

Attorneys Bijan Esfandiari, Michael L. Baum, and Monique Alarcon filed the Gardasil lawsuit on behalf of Erin Ferguson, whose daughter Haley died at age 22 after a battle with cervical cancer. The complaint includes the following causes of action against Merck Sharpe & Dohme:

Negligence

Strict Liability (Failure to Warn)

Strict Liability (Manufacturing Defect)

Breach of Warranty

Fraud

Wrongful Death

The lawsuit alleges Merck's conduct, including its false promotion of Gardasil as a cancer prevention vaccine and its failure to issue appropriate warnings about Gardasil's safety, created a substantial risk of harm to people who received the vaccine. The complaint also seeks punitive damages against Merck.

According to the complaint, Haley Ferguson received the first of three Gardasil injections when she was 13 and experienced numerous side effects. At age 18, she was diagnosed with metastatic cervical cancer that required multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. The cancer spread throughout her body and she died in 2023.

"It's marketing, Merck scared parents into believing that by getting the Gardasil vaccine, their children would be protected from getting cancer," says Bijan Esfandiari, who serves as co-lead trial counsel in the Gardasil MDL.

"But Merck's studies were not designed to determine whether Gardasil prevents cervical cancer. The company only tested whether the vaccine prevented certain lesions caused by HPV, the vast majority of which disappear on their own. As the studies in the complaint show, Gardasil may actually increase the risk of cervical cancer."

"This case is tragic and heartbreaking. We will do everything in our power to hold Merck accountable for its overly enthusiastic marketing and its failure to warn of Gardasil's risks."

Esfandiari says the first Gardasil trial in the MDL will likely take place next year.

About Wisner Baum

Wisner Baum LLP is based in Los Angeles. Since 1985, the firm has obtained over $4 billion in verdicts and settlements for clients across all practice areas. 

Media Contact: Robin McCall; [email protected] 

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SOURCE Wisner Baum