Merck faces two wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of mothers who allege the company’s Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine killed their daughters.

Vaccine lawyers from Wisner Baum filed the lawsuits on behalf of a North Carolina mother who alleges the shot killed her 10-year-old daughter, and on behalf of a Pennsylvania mother who alleges the shot killed her 14-year-old daughter.

“Both mothers contend the HPV vaccine caused serious autoimmune and neurological dysfunction, ultimately resulting in the deaths of their daughters,” a press release stated.

The press release reads:

Gardasil lawsuit attorneys Monique Alarcon, Bijan Esfandiari, Michael L. Baum, and Stephanie B. Sherman, filed the complaints for wrongful death in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Case No 3:22-md-03036-KDB). The cases will become part of the Gardasil multidistrict litigation (In Re: Gardasil Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3036), where over 150 similar cases are pending.

The attorneys represent Kristine Zuggi, whose daughter, Isabella, a healthy fifth-grader, died just ten weeks after receiving the Gardasil vaccine, and Lynne Guzman, whose 12-year-old daughter Sydney Figueroa was confined to a wheelchair after receiving the vaccine, and died soon after.

The lawsuits are against Gardasil’s manufacturer, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc. and its subsidiary, Merck Sharp & Dohme. The allegations include:

Merck regularly risks lives with full knowledge of Gardasil’s limited efficacy and severe dangers.

Merck knowingly fails to warn the public and medical providers about the risk of injury or death.

Merck has engaged in a relentless propaganda campaign to frighten and guilt parents into inoculating their children with Gardasil.

Merck knowingly created a substantial risk of harm to children and patients injected with Gardasil and therefore an award of punitive damages is warranted.

“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.

“Two weeks after the shot, Isabella developed headaches, lethargy, stomach pains, body aches and intermittent fevers. Doctors diagnosed her with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies,” The Defender reports.

From The Defender:

MOG antibody disorders are acute, inflammatory, demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system.

According to the complaint, MOG antibody-related autoimmunity has been reported after several vaccines, including Gardasil. According to studies, Gardasil is “among the most commonly reported vaccinations linked to central nervous system demyelination.”

Isabella died Nov. 5, 2022. The cause of death was listed as acute encephalitis associated with anti-MOG antibody production. Research has repeatedly linked acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with the HPV vaccine.

Isabella’s mother, Kristine, said that if she knew that Gardasil could hurt her child, she never would have consented for Isabella to receive the vaccine.

“Sydney Figueroa received two Gardasil shots, the first at age 11 and the second at 12. Before the vaccine, she excelled academically and athletically. She participated in soccer, track and field, and played in her school’s band,” the outlet noted.

Cont. from The Defender:

After Gardasil, Sydney experienced multiple debilitating side effects, including headaches, brain fog, rapid heart rate, excruciating nerve pain and an inability to swallow, which ultimately required a feeding tube.

Sydney was confined to a wheelchair and required full-time care. Doctors diagnosed her with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Tourette syndrome and functional neurological disorder.

Sydney died on June 2, 2021, at the age of 14, from a pulmonary embolism directly attributable to prolonged immobility related to her autoimmune diseases, which were triggered by Gardasil.

A lawsuit filed on her behalf alleges that Julie Gerberding, then the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “obligingly ushered the Gardasil vaccine through CDC’s regulatory process, manifestly ignoring clear evidence that Gardasil’s efficacy was unproven and that the vaccine was potentially dangerous.”

“Gardasil destroyed my daughter’s life,” said Lynne Guzman, Sydney’s mother. “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.”

“The national law firm of Wisner Baum is a leader in the Gardasil injury litigation against the vaccine manufacturer, New Jersey-based Merck & Co., Inc. Since 2019, the firm has filed numerous Gardasil lawsuits against Merck on behalf of young men and women who sustained life altering personal injuries and devastating side effects after receiving the allegedly ‘defective and dangerous’ human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine,” Wisner Baum writes on its website.

“Before Gardasil, our clients were happy, healthy kids who were active and enjoyed a wide range of activities. After Gardasil, their lives have changed to constant doctor’s office visits and treatments for an endless list of severe health issues,” the law firm added.

Wisner Baum listed the following severe health issues experienced by its clients:

  • Autonomic Dysfunction (Dysautonomia)
  • Chronic Migraines
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
  • Orthostatic Intolerance (OI)
  • Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)
  • Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
  • Sinus Tachycardia

Read more details about Gardasil injury cases at Wisner Baum.

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