Causation Opinions Excluded in Bellwether Zostavax MDL Action

PHILADELPHIA – The judge overseeing the Zostavax federal MDL docket has excluded the causation opinions of plaintiffs’ expert Joseph Jeret M.D. in a bellwether case, ruling that he did not use reliable methods in reaching his conclusions.

In an Oct. 4 order, Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania explained that Dr. Jeret’s opinon that any infection from Zostavax could result in persistent daily headaches (PDH) “is merely a theory based on biological plausibility,” which is insufficient to establish general causation.”

Kay Kobylinski, then 68, received the Zostavax shingles vaccine in January …