Ohio Vaccine Injury Attorneys 

What compensation is available in a successful claim?

If the US Court of Federal Claims awards compensation to a person injured by a vaccine, the amount will depend on the harm done to that person. Different conditions could lead to greater losses and result in higher awards. The compensation may include coverage of the following:

• Medical costs
• Rehabilitative costs
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Attorney fees
• Other legal costs

An attorney can help estimate what a claim might be worth.

Role of an attorney in VICP claims

Attorneys can help recover compensation in VICP claims. While the process is not the same as filing and litigating a case in court, a lawyer often serves a critical role.

Medical cases, including vaccine injury claims, are particularly complex and require careful attention. It might be necessary to seek the assistance of a medical expert to prove injuries and the connection between the injuries and the vaccine. An attorney can help gather this information and build a compelling claim.

An Ohio vaccine injury attorney also serves as the advocate for their client’s rights in the Court of Federal Claims. In the event that the court finds against you, you can also work with your lawyer to determine whether the claim is worth appealing or bringing to civil court. You might have a medical malpractice claim against the administrator of the vaccine or a claim against the manufacturer.

Specific Vaccine-Related Injuries

Vaccine-related injuries can appear in various forms. Here are some of the more common conditions a vaccine may cause.

Allergic reactions

Allergic reactions from vaccines may cause mild symptoms, like itching or soreness at the injection site, or far more severe complications, like anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis causes itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing, making it a dangerous, potentially deadly condition.

Autoimmune disorders

Autoimmune disorders occur because the immune system attacks healthy cells. The reaction may cause inflammation and swelling, leading to conditions such as:

• Brachial Neuritis involves nerve damage in the brachial plexus that may cause weakness, loss of feeling, or pain, often on one side of the body.
• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is a progressive autoimmune disorder that leads the immune system to mistakenly target the myelin sheath that insulates and safeguards nerves. Typical symptoms include slowly increasing weakness and sensory alterations in the arms or legs.
• Encephalitis involves brain inflammation that leads to confusion, seizures, and muscle weakness.
• Encephalopathy includes various brain conditions that can cause symptoms from mild memory loss to dementia and seizures.
• Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) starts with pins-and-needles sensations and can progress to a rapid heart rate and difficulty breathing.
• Thrombocytopenic Purpura is a blood condition that causes low blood platelet levels, leading to excessive bleeding and bruising.
• Transverse Myelitis involves spinal cord inflammation resulting in limb weakness or numbness.

Blood conditions

Blood conditions that cause clotting and the autoimmune condition thrombocytopenic purpura, which leads to low platelets, bleeding, and bruising, can cause serious health consequences.

Bowel problems

Vaccine-related bowel issues can range from mild to severe. Intussusception is one potential condition possibly related to vaccines that causes pain when part of the intestine slides into another section, causing an obstruction.

Brain conditions

Brain conditions potentially caused by vaccines include:

• Encephalitis, a condition causing confusion, seizures, and muscle weakness related to brain swelling.
• Encephalopathy, a brain condition that may lead to mild memory loss, dementia, and seizures.
• Vasovagal Syncope, which causes the sudden drop in blood pressure, leading to fainting.

Nerve damage and pain

Nerve damage and pain are common side effects of vaccines. These conditions are often due to the immune system attacking healthy nerves. Examples include:

• Brachial Neuritis, which is nerve damage in the brachial plexus that causes weakness, loss of feeling, or pain.
• Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), which causes a sensation of pins and needles, rapid heart rate, and difficulty breathing.
• Transverse Myelitis, which is a spinal cord inflammation that causes weakness or numbness in the limbs.

Shoulder injuries

Common vaccine injuries affecting the shoulder include:

• Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA), which is caused by injections, leads to pain and stiffness in the shoulder.
• Brachial Neuritis, which is nerve damage in the brachial plexus that leads to weakness, loss of feeling, or pain.

Responsibilities of healthcare providers

Healthcare providers also may play a role in vaccine injuries and injury prevention. It is the responsibility of these practitioners to provide patients with vaccine information statements (VIS) from the CDC. Also, they must report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to help track potential issues with a vaccine. Additionally, if the person administering the vaccine causes an injury, they might be liable.

COVID-19 vaccine and VICP

The COVID-19 vaccine is relatively new and not yet on the list of those covered by the VICP. As a result, those who experience injuries related to that vaccine cannot recover through that system.

There are ways to pursue claims, however, such as through the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). The CICP addresses injuries caused by countermeasures to security threats. Vaccines, devices, medications or other items that officials use to combat a public health emergency or a security threat fall under this law. To recover under the CICP, people must suffer serious harm or death, and need to show reliable medical and scientific evidence of link between the injury and countermeasure. In the case of the CICP, a temporal link between the vaccine and the injury is not enough to prove causation.

Examples of conditions and emergencies that could lead to qualifying countermeasures include:

• Acute Radiation Syndrome
• Anthrax
• Botulinum Toxin
• Ebola
• Marburg
• Nerve agents and certain insecticides
• Pandemic Influenza
• Smallpox and other orthopoxviruses
• Zika

It is possible that the COVID-19 vaccine will soon be included in the VICP as attorneys and some members of Congress have been working to add it to that legislation. If that effort is successful, COVID-19 claims are likely to spike.