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.