LAWSUIT CLAIMS LINK BETWEEN MERCURY-BASED THIMEROSAL EXPOSURE AND SYMPTOMS SUFFERED BY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GULF WAR VETERANS

Law Offices of Shawn Khorrami in association with Waters & Kraus have filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court today, claiming damages against 13 major pharmaceutical companies which manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold  vaccines containing the mercury-based preservative, Thimerosal. The complaint was filed on behalf of Plaintiffs Frank Schmuck and Andrea Schmuck, his wife. Frank Schmuck is a U.S. Air Force Captain and a decorated Gulf War veteran.

The complaint may hold the answer to symptoms suffered by tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans. It also has implications for any segment of the population subject to frequent vaccines such as children and senior citizens and current military personnel.  The issues of mercury-based Thimerosal vaccines takes on special significance now given the movement for increased vaccinations amongst the general public due to recent bio-terrorism attacks.

The defendants in the complaint include Abbott Laboratories, American Home Products, Wyeth, Aventis Pasteur, Bayer Corporation, Bioport Corporation, Glaxosmithkline, King Pharmaceuticals, Medeva Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Sigma-Aldrich Crop, Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp. and Stat Pharmaceuticals.  A jury trial is demanded.

The complaint alleges a causal connection between symptoms suffered by tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans, including Frank Schmuck, and the mercury-based preservative, Thimerosal, in vaccines.  It charges the drug companies with, among other things: Fraudulent Misrepresentation,   Fraud and Deceit, Negligence, Strict Product Liability,  Illegal and deceptive business practices,  and Loss of Consortium.

As with all Gulf War veterans prior to, during, and after their deployment to the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Air Force required Plaintiff Captain Schmuck to receive vaccinations.   The Plaintiff’s vaccine regimen continued until as late as 1998.  After completing his service, Frank Schmuck obtained employment as a pilot for a major airline.

As a result of significant exposure to mercury through the Thimerosal contained in the vaccines, the Plaintiff suffered serious toxic injuries, including abnormal weight loss, gastrointestinal inflammation, neurological and short-term memory loss and a tumor on his liver, all symptoms that are common in many Gulf War veterans.  The effects were so severe that he could not continue his work as a pilot.  Schmuck recovered his life and his job only after undergoing a detox program for mercury poisoning.  The mercury-induced injuries are the subject of the action, says Attorney Shawn Khorrami in the complaint filed today.

The complaint does not find fault with the vaccines themselves.  Thimerosal is, was, and always has been nothing but a preservative.  The vaccines in question would have had their beneficial effects with or without Thimerosal.  Thimerosal exists in the vaccine only to increase profit margins by, among other things, allowing the drug companies to sell vaccines in multi-dose vials, rather than single dose ones. 

Thimerosal’s base ingredient is mercury, one of, if not the, most toxic non-radioactive material known to man.  An overwhelming amount of scientific data ranging from animal to human studies conclusively document mercury’s horrendous and devastating effects.  In fact, the use of Thimerosal in childhood vaccines and their connection to autism in infants was the subject of hearings at the House of Representatives in June of 2000.  Thimerosal contains a particularly toxic, organic form of Mercury. 

Despite knowledge of the dangerous propensities of their products, the Defendants continuously and deliberately concealed from or otherwise misrepresented to doctors and to the consuming public the efficacy of these products. The Defendants failed to advise doctors or consumers that the usage of the Thimerosal-containing vaccines, used in their ordinary fashion, could result in mercury poisoning.

The Plaintiff's complaint has ramifications to the public at large. "It raises questions for anyone who is subject to regular vaccines, especially children,"  Khorrami says. "It is especially concerning now given the push for an increase in vaccination regimens to the military and the general population in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks."

The Plaintiff's complaint is filed amid the recent government admission that service in the Gulf War has been linked to Lou Gehrig's disease. It is the first time the government acknowledged a scientific link between service in the Gulf and a specific disease. Mercury poisoning through Thimersol-based vaccines and other products administered to those in Gulf War service is a disability that could have been avoided if the Defendants had been forthcoming.