Trial Begins in Calif. Gardasil Vaccine Injury Case

LOS ANGELES — A long-awaited trial began on Jan. 22 in a case in which a woman alleges that the Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine caused her to develop an autoimmune disease known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and small fiber neuropathy.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016 in Los Angeles Superior Court, says Merck failed to warn the plaintiff’s doctor that Gardasil could cause certain autoimmune and neurological injuries, and that the drug maker concealed and downplayed those risks while aggressively marketing the vaccine as safe and effective.

Judge Donna F. Goldstein will preside over the trial.

In …