Bellwether Zostavax Plaintiff Appeals MDL Judge’s Exclusion of Expert Opinion

PHILADELPHIA — The plaintiff in a bellwether Zostavax case is appealing an MDL court's ruling that his expert, Dr. David Saperstein, cannot “rule in” the shingles vaccine as a cause for the plaintiff’s Guillian-Barré syndrome (GBS) because he based his opinion solely on a three-day window between vaccination and onset of injury.

Plaintiff Joseph Bockus filed his appeal with the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied his motion for reconsideration of the October 11 ruling.

Joseph Bockus received Zostavax on Aug. 14, 2014, …