Gardasil, a vaccine marketed to prevent some types of cervical cancers in women, has been linked to serious side effects, including paralysis and even some deaths. The lawyers of Carey & Danis are offering free consultations to people nationwide who have suffered serious complications after receiving the vaccine.

Made by Merck & Co., Gardasil (known generically as human papillomavirus vaccine) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2006 for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. It was designed to prevent the spread of some strains of the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.

Merck aggressively launched Gardasil onto the market through the use of commercial spots on television and YouTube viral marketing and lobbied state health regulators to make Gardasil vaccinations mandatory for 11- and 12-year-old girls. By August 2008, 24 states had proposed mandating the vaccine for middle-school girls, including a measure set to go into effect this fall in Virginia.

But the rush to put Gardasil on the market is now being questioned. In an editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, titled “Human Papillomavirus Vaccination—Reasons for Caution,” Dr. Charlotte Haug writes that although Gardasil was licensed for use in June 2006, “a number of critical questions remained unanswered.” The author notes that there is still a lack of sufficient evidence demonstrating that the vaccine is effective against cervical cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the two years after the vaccination’s launch it received 21 reports of deaths following vaccinations. The agency also had 13 confirmed reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome, with additional reports currently under review by the CDC. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. It can lead to paralysis and, in some instances, death.

Complications linked to Gardasil have also been reported by Judicial Watch. According to the public-interest group, the FDA has received 1,824 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination. Judicial Watch reported:

• On the same day that a 17-year-old received her first dose of Gardasil, she was found unconscious be her mother. Attempts by emergency physicians to revive her were unsuccessful, and she died.
• On the same day that a 12-year-old girl with a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiency received her first vaccination, she was admitted to the hospital with ventricular tachycardia and died.
• After receiving the recommended two doses of Gardasil, a 13-year-old girl was paralyzed from the chest down.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious complication after receiving a Gardasil vaccination, or a loved one has died after receiving the vaccine, contact the attorneys of Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America’s largest corporations.

At Carey & Danis, even though our lawyers have recovered more than $695 million for our clients, including individual settlements of over $10 million and class-wide settlements of more than $90 million, we count our clients as our most important asset.