Sydney Figueroa was a happy, healthy, vibrant 11 year old Pennsylvania girl when she received the first dose of Merck’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil, on December 6, 2017. She went on and got the second dose of the vaccine when she was 12.

Before the vaccine, Sydney was athletic and very involved in school. She played soccer, was on the track team, and played in the school band. She was a shining star with a bright future.

After the Gardasil shots, Sydney’s world fell apart. The young girl developed headaches, brain fog, dizziness, rapid heart rate, exhaustion, leg pain, ringing in the ears, light sensitivity, vision issues, respiratory complications, muscle weakness, inability to walk normally, inability to swallow that ultimately lead to a feeding tube, and excruciating nerve pain.

Sydney was completely left disabled after the vaccine. She was confined to a wheelchair and required full time care. She was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Tourette’s Syndrome, and Functional Neurological Disorder. 

On June 2, 2021, Sydney died from a pulmonary embolism directly attributable to prolonged immobility because of her autoimmune diseases triggered by Gardasil.

Sydney Figueroa is the latest victim to join Wisner Baum’s class action lawsuit against Merck which now has over 150 cases pending.

Sydney’s mother Lynne told the attorneys at Wisner Baum, “Gardasil destroyed my daughter’s life. 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 class action lawsuit also includes Isabella Zuggi, a 10 year old girl who developed a fatal autoimmune disease in the weeks following a single Gardasil shot which caused her death.