Gardasil Deaths
You may have heard that the HPV vaccine Gardasil has been linked to numerous side effects. Something you may not know: According to the National Vaccine Information Center, hundreds of people have died after receiving the Gardasil vaccine.
On September 27, 2022, Wisner Baum attorneys Bijan Esfandiari, Michael L. Baum, Stephanie B. Sherman, and Monique Alarcon, along with co-counsel Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., filed the first Gardasil death lawsuit in civil court. The case was filed on behalf of Clifton and Kelli Foley, a couple from North Carolina who allege the Gardasil HPV vaccine killed their 13-year-old son.
According to the complaint allegations, Gardasil’s manufacturer, Merck, “engaged in a relentless propaganda campaign aimed at frightening and guilting parents” who did not vaccinate their children with the HPV vaccine. The Gardasil death lawsuit further alleges:
- Merck regularly risks the lives of patients with full knowledge of Gardasil’s limited efficacy and severely harmful and sometimes fatal dangers.
- Merck has made conscious decisions to not warn or inform the unsuspecting public and medical providers of such risks of injury and sometimes death.
- Merck’s conduct, including its false promotion of Gardasil and its failure to issue appropriate warnings concerning the severe risks of Gardasil, created a substantial risk of significant harm to children and patients who were being injected with Gardasil, and therefore warrants an award of punitive damages.
Clifton and Kelli Foley’s son, Noah, passed away at age 13 of encephalitis. Their Gardasil lawsuit alleges Noah’s death stemmed from an autoimmune/autoinflammatory dysregulation process, which was caused-in-fact by the Gardasil shot received in 2018.
The Foleys have said that if they had been warned about Gardasil’s potential to cause serious adverse health effects, they would not have given consent for their son to receive the vaccine.
“Our faith is very strong,” says Kelli Foley. “That’s how I know that despite the pain our family continues to feel in Noah’s absence, we won’t let his death be in vain. We will fight for him in getting justice against Merck for what they did to him.”
“I lost my fishing and hunting buddy, and my daughter lost her best friend,” says Cliff Foley. “They say time heals all wounds, but losing your son is something you never really heal from. Every day, we feel the loss, and it doesn’t get any easier.”
The Foleys issued the following statement when their Gardasil lawsuit was filed:
“We have several reasons for pursuing this action against Merck. First and foremost, we want justice for our son, who suffered mightily because Merck never told us that serious adverse effects were possible. We want accountability and acknowledgment that what they’ve done is wrong. We hope that our case will raise awareness and provide other families the opportunity to make more informed choices about the risks associated with Gardasil. Lastly, we want some form of closure, which is something that we’ve never had.”
Watch the Video: 13-Year-Old Noah Foley’s Untimely Death After Gardasil
For more information or to speak with a lawyer, call (855) 948-5098 today or fill out our contact form.
Hundreds of Reported Gardasil Vaccine Deaths
According to the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), hundreds of people have died after receiving the HPV2, HPV4, HPV9 or HPVX vaccine. It is worth noting that the number of HPV vaccine adverse events is assumed to be underreported.
On June 23, 2008, a 21-year-old student at Bard College died suddenly and unexpectedly in bed at the New York home she shared with other students. Christina Tarsell was young and healthy; a multi-sport athlete who played softball in high school and tennis at Bard.
Medical examiners listed Christina’s cause of death as undetermined. Unable to live without answers to Christina’s unexplainable death, the Tarsell family pursued an extensive investigation involving world-class experts in immunology, cardiology and electrophysiology.
The doctors evaluating Christina Tarsell’s death determined that she died of an arrhythmia induced by an autoimmune response to Gardasil, an HPV vaccine that she had received only days before her death.
Merck & Co. advertised the Gardasil vaccine to young women as an effective tool to prevent cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that girls and women receive three shots of Gardasil.
Days after receiving her first Gardasil shot, Christina Tarsell suffered from arrhythmia. She experienced the same problem again days after her second Gardasil shot. Ms. Tarsell died after her third Gardasil injection.
Gardasil Makes Good Vaccines Look Bad
There is currently a great deal of controversy surrounding vaccines. Our firm wishes to stress that we are not against vaccines. They have the potential to eradicate disease and save millions of lives. We are, however, against intentional efforts to mislead consumers about the safety and effectiveness of a drug or vaccine. We have always fought-- and will continue to fight-- for the rights of consumers to be fully and honestly informed about risks associated with any drug, vaccine, or medical device. We will work tirelessly to ensure those rights are defended and victims of injustice are compensated for their injuries.
Gardasil Claim Filed
Emily Tarsell, Christina’s mother, decided to pursue legal action over her daughter’s wrongful death against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As a covered vaccine, victims of Gardasil injuries cannot file a Gardasil lawsuit against Merck in civil court before first filing a claim with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).
On April 2, 2018, after the Tarsell family fighting many years for justice, a special master in the VICP ruled that Christina had died from a heart arrhythmia caused by Gardasil. The decision stated that Tarsell’s legal team had presented “preponderant evidence of a logical sequence of cause and effect, connecting the HPV vaccination to the ensuing arrhythmia.”
Emily Tarsell is one of many Gardasil victims to file a claim in the VICP. As of February of 2020, 441 Gardasil claims have been filed in the VICP for 15 deaths and 426 injuries that occurred after HPV vaccination. Of those, 134 resulted in compensation for the victims.
Studies Linking Gardasil and Death
While more study is needed to better understand the link between Gardasil and death, there are published studies linking HPV vaccination to sudden death in previously healthy women.
In 2012, a published case study of two deaths after HPV vaccination suggests that HPV vaccines containing HPV-16L1 antigens “pose an inherent risk for triggering potentially fatal autoimmune vasculopathies.”
Also in 2012, Dr. Sin Hang Lee, a research scientist and board certified pathologist, published a case study examining the sudden death of a teenaged girl six months after receiving the final of her three shots of Gardasil. Dr. Lee found HPV-16 gene DNA in blood and spleen tissue samples similar to HPV-16 gene DNA fragments he found in Gardasil. The HPV-16 LI gene DNA was bound to what Merck describes as its proprietary aluminum adjuvant used in Gardasil 4 and Gardasil 9. This binding protected the DNA fragments from degradation.
“Viral DNA molecules, as those found in Gardasil, when transfected with the aluminum adjuvant into the macrophages after intramuscular injection, are now known to stimulate release of many immune molecules some of which, such as the tumor necrosis factor-α, are potent myocardial depressants. Tumor necrosis factor is capable of causing hypotension and even death in experimental animals and in humans.”
Gardasil Lawyers Representing Victims
The Gardasil HPV vaccine was fast-tracked to the market, achieving in six months a move from drug application to FDA approval that generally takes years. One of the principal investigators of the Gardasil clinical trials (the human testing that precedes FDA approval) said the process “went too fast.” Some of the more disturbing side effects that were not disclosed on the Gardasil package insert:
- The miscarriage rate among those injected with Gardasil was 25%. The miscarriage rate for women under 30 in the U.S. is 12.5%.
- In the Gardasil group, 5 babies were born with congenital abnormalities compared to none in the control group.
- 10.9% of women who received Gardasil reported reproductive disorders within 7 months. In the Protocol 18 placebo group, that figure was 1.2%
- The rate of Gardasil deaths in the clinical trials was 8.5 per 10,000, nearly double the background U.S. death rate for young women ages 15-24.
Wisner Baum is evaluating Gardasil claims involving the following side effects and injuries:
- Auto-immune disorders
- Chronic fatigue syndromes
- Chronic pain syndromes, including Chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Death
- Dysautonomia
- Fibromyalgia
- Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
- Lupus
- Movement disorders
- Neurological disorders
- Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
- Reproductive disorders, including premature ovarian failure (POF)
- Small fiber neuropathy
If you or a family member suffered from any of the above maladies after receiving a Gardasil shot, we can help. Call (855) 948-5098 today, or complete our contact form, for a free confidential case evaluation.
-
Pharmaceutical Settlement $105 Million Settlement
Wisner Baum obtained $105 million on behalf of multiple clients involved in a pharmaceutical negligence case.
-
Paxil Pediatric Class Action $63 Million Settlement
$63 million pediatric class action re false promotion of Paxil. Judge approves final terms of improved national pediatric paxil class action settlement – consumers get a better deal.
-
Third-Party Payer Class Action $40 Million Settlement
$40 million third-party payer class action re off-label promotion of Paxil. Judge approves $40 million settlement in the second phase of national pediatric paxil class action – insurance companies to be reimbursed.
-
Defective Drug Class Action $28 Million Settlement
$28 million Paxil defective drug class action. A class action has been brought in the US territory of Puerto Rico against UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline.
-
Celexa-Lexapro Pediatric Class Action $10 Million Settlement
$10 million pediatric class action re false promotion of Celexa and Lexapro. Babies born to women who have used Lexapro and other similar medications such as Zoloft, Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Symbyax are at an increased risk for birth defects.
-
Drug Injury $9 Million Settlement
Wisner Baum obtained a $9 million settlement on behalf of an individual who was injured by a drug.


-
A ranking in The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” is widely regarded by both client and legal professionals as a significant honor. It is considered the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
-
Wisner Baum is proud to be a sponsor of The Truck Safety Coalition, a a group of caring individuals dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes. Our support enables them to help families and save lives.
-
Law360 recognizes law firms that have a strong regional presence, working on important matters within their home state. “[Wisner Baum] possesses a David v. Goliath-sized slingshot while seeking justice for everyday citizens it believes were harmed or killed through corporate wrongdoing.”
-
NLJ and American Lawyer Media honor law firms and attorneys as Elite Trial Lawyers for their cutting-edge legal work on behalf of plaintiffs in practice areas ranging from mass torts to securities litigation.
-
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.
-
Less than one-half of one percent of firms across the nation have achieved this ranking. A firm must have a high percentage of lawyers who have achieved the prestigious AV® Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell®.
-
The National Law Journal inducted Wisner Baum into the Verdicts Hall of Fame for obtaining the $2 billion landmark verdict in the Roundup cancer case of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto. The verdict was #1 in California and #2 in the U.S. in 2019 and is #9 in American history.
-
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
-
The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 recognized the law firms of Wisner Baum, the Miller Firm and Audet & Partners with the 2019 Trial Team of the Year award (in the Mass Torts category) for their work in the groundbreaking case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Company.
-
An AV® rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. The rating signifies the highest legal ability, and very high adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence.
-
Wisner Baum is proud to have all of its lawyers listed in Avvo, a legal directory connecting people in need of legal services with lawyers and connecting lawyers to lawyers. Eight of our attorneys have earned a 10.0 perfect rating with Avvo.
-
CA and USATopVerdict.com ranks our $2 billion verdict in Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto as the biggest verdict in California and the second largest verdict in the U.S. in 2019. It is the ninth largest verdict in U.S. history.
-
Published annually, the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list recognizes the “best of the best” in this area of the law through nominations, research, and review by a board of their peers.
-
In 2020, Law360 honored the law firms ”behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry.” It recognized our success in several landmark cases.
-
In 2018, our $289 million Johnson v. Monsanto verdict was the largest personal injury verdict in California. TopVerdict.com also ranked it #2 among all verdicts in California and #10 in the nation.
-
The Bar Register is the definitive guide to the most distinguished law firms in America. It includes only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field.

Firm Reviews
What Our Clients Are Saying
-
I Can’t Imagine a Better Law Firm
“Multiple lawyers recommended Wisner Baum to me and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their work.”
- Best Law Firms Survey -
They Are About Changing the Systems...
“Wisner Baum are not only amazing attorneys but more importantly, they are activists. They are about changing the systems which got us into trouble in the first place. They understand their role in the process of making change.”
- Kim Witczak -
Top Legal Minds in the Country
“The Wisner Baum firm has some of the top legal minds in the country; they are driven, determined, trustworthy, ethical and passionate.”
- From Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms -
Diligent & Professional Representation
“Thanks to your efforts I was able to recover from a tragic experience and turn my life around for the best.”
- W.T. -
Our Best Interest Was Always Number One on Your List
“A special thank you to your Spanish-speaking staff for the extra effort put into this case. The language barrier was never a problem, and we are so very thankful to them. Your name holds much respect in our family.”
- G.C. & C.C