As adults, we have the opportunity to get a wide variety of vaccines to protect us from diseases and infections. That’s in addition to the many vaccines we received as children.
Those immunizations are intended to keep us healthy, but unfortunately, some people suffer bad reactions to injections and other methods of inoculation. The side effects can occur right after a shot or appear years later.
Kentucky vaccine injury victims, young and old, can face serious health issues and even be placed at risk of losing their lives. Fortunately, victims and their family members can seek financial support for recovery from vaccine manufacturers and through a special government fund set up to protect victims.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Kentucky Vaccine Injury Lawyer
A patient who suffers harm after getting a vaccine may feel powerless when facing off against a giant pharmaceutical company. Fortunately, victims and their family members don’t have to stand alone when asking for basic help while trying to heal from the effects of a shot or other form of immunization.
The Kentucky vaccine injury lawyers at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, offer all vaccination victims a free and confidential consultation. It’s an easy way to understand the benefits available to you and how to secure what’s fair for your family. We also offer this free service to a family who has lost a loved one to a vaccine side effect. Families should also know about the benefits available to them.
Contact our law offices to schedule your free vaccine injury case review today. If you decide we can help you earn more for your injury claim, you won’t need any money now. We don’t get paid unless we win your case, and in some cases, the federal government will pay your attorney fees for you.
Vaccination Reaction Dangers for Kentucky Patients
The CDC describes vaccinations as “a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.”
These shots, liquids, and sprays are designed to protect us from viruses that cause things like the flu or COVID-19. As children, we get a battery of immunizations that protect us from chicken pox, whooping cough, and other diseases.
In most cases, these immunizations do their jobs, but for some, they may also cause side effects that may be worse than the disease they are meant to safeguard victims from.
People who take a vaccine can experience immediate pain, swelling, and shortness of breath. They may also contract some of these and other more long-term serious health issues:
- Autoimmune disorders like Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
- Severe allergic reactions to vaccinations known as anaphylaxis.
- Bell’s Palsy. This arises when a vaccine does nerve damage to the victim and facial muscles are affected.
- Encephalitis results in the swelling of the membrane surrounding the brain. Permanent brain damage is possible.
- Varicella vaccine-strain viral disease results from the contents of a vaccination. It can leave a rash or cause organs to become infected.
- Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body’s immune system response to an inoculation begins to harm the membrane lining joints.
- Multiple Sclerosis causes the immune system to eat away at the protective covering of nerves.
These are just a few of the many symptoms people have suffered after getting vaccinated. Vaccine manufacturers can absolutely be held responsible for these adverse reactions to their products. Victims should explore their options with a skilled Kentucky Personal Injury Lawyer before they end up losing benefits and having to pay for their medical care out of their own pockets.
Filing Claims for Vaccine Injury Victims in Kentucky
Many vaccine victims are eligible to file claims and receive compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). Benefit.Gov defines this program as a “‘no-fault’ system designed to compensate individuals, or families of individuals, who have been injured by childhood vaccines, whether administered in the private or public sector.”
Under the VICP, victims have a lower burden of proof than they would likely have in court. Victims and their families are often awarded compensation even if they don’t have ironclad medical proof that their symptoms were caused by vaccination complications.
The ‘no-fault’ is important because it means that victims aren’t required to prove the vaccine producer was negligent in the making of the vaccine. Proving this in court might be a long and difficult legal process that may leave victims waiting years for support.
Instead, the VICP establishes a trust fund that all vaccine manufacturers pay into. If you got an eligible vaccination and you can prove it caused your medical ailment, you are awarded money from the fund.
Vaccines Officially Recognized Under the VICP
The government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program fund is more easily accessible to the victims of certain vaccines and certain injuries that have been selected by the program.
This is a partial list of the vaccines that qualify victims to receive compensation for their hardships:
- Seasonal influenza/Flu (Non-Seasonal Flu Vaccines are not included)
- Diphtheria (e.g., DTP, DTaP, Tdap, DT, Td, TT)
- Hepatitis A (e.g., HAV)
- Hepatitis B (e.g., HBV)
- Human papillomavirus (e.g., HPV) (Gardasil)
- Measles (e.g., MMR)
- Mumps (e.g., MMR, MR, M)
- Pertussis/Whooping Cough (e.g., DTP, DTaP, Tdap)
- Polio (e.g., OPV or IPV)
- Tetanus (e.g., Td)
- Varicella/Chickenpox (e.g., VAR)
There is a full list of the immunizations and injuries that qualify for VICP compensation here. The list of accepted vaccines can change so make sure to check back on this site often.
Victims of these designated vaccines can file a petition with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Lawyers for the government would closely examine your claim. Their job is to find a reason to deny you support. They’ll usually try to show that your symptoms were caused by something other than exposure to a vaccine.
You’ll want a skilled Kentucky Vaccine Injury Lawyer on your side to make sure you have strong evidence of your suffering and to ensure you’ve filled out every document properly. Your attorney proves how much you’ve lost due to a harmful vaccination and negotiates to get the most out of your vaccination injury claim for you.
Filing Claims Over Vaccines Not on the VICP List
You may have suffered health issues due to a vaccination that isn’t currently on the VICP list. That’s okay. You may attempt to draw from the VICP trust fund for other vaccinations and injuries not listed.
Filing a claim over a vaccine that hasn’t been accepted into this program simply means there’s a higher burden of proof. You’d have to bring additional medical documentation to the table proving that your illness was caused by your inoculation.
In addition, you still have the right to sue any vaccine manufacturer yourself in court to recover full compensation. This type of litigation against a corporation would be complex and having a Kentucky vaccine injury lawyer on your side would give you the best chance of success.
In some cases, you may be eligible to join a class-action lawsuit with other potential victims of a certain vaccine. This is what happened when multiple people brought lawsuits against the Merck Corporation over the Gardasil HPV vaccination. In the fall of 2022, the plaintiffs were merged into a class-action lawsuit. Sadly, many of the victims who have suffered harm due to a Gardasil shot have been children.
Your Kentucky vaccine injury lawyer stands ready to help you sue any pharmaceutical manufacturer over a vaccination health crisis that affects you or your child. Your lawyer could also help you enter a class-action lawsuit and make sure you receive your fair share of any settlement or judgment awarded.
How Much Can I Earn in Compensation for a Vaccination Injury?
Every case will be different, so it will be hard to estimate how much you’ll receive for the hardships suffered after receiving a vaccination.
It is possible to look at the factors that will help determine what you’ll receive.
The severity of the vaccine side effects you’ve suffered will play a role in how much you stand to be awarded. The changes your health issues have forced you to make in your normal life routine will also be looked at. Your attorney’s skill and experience at the negotiating table can play a big part in what you ultimately take home.
These are just a few of the other details that will help determine the size of your vaccine injury settlement check:
- All hospital bills and bills expected in the future related to the vaccine injury.
- The amount of income and benefits you’ve lost at work while in recovery.
- Support for non-economic damages such as physical pain and emotional trauma. You may face daily pain for the rest of your life. Your emotional damages may include a loss of enjoyment of life while being unable to participate in family activities and hobbies.
- Wrongful death benefits earned by families filing on behalf of deceased victims. This would be on top of the support awarded to families for the medical expenses victims built up while they were sick and the bills left behind.
- Attorney Fees Paid. In the case of a Vaccine Injury Compensation Claim, attorney fees for the victim’s legal representation would be paid. The costs for an attorney would come from the trust fund instead of out of your settlement award.
How Long Can I Wait to File a VICP Claim Over a Vaccine Injury?
Victims filing over vaccine injuries under the VICP have up to three years from the date of the first symptom they experienced.
Families can file a claim up to two years after the death of a family member or within four years of the first symptom the deceased patient endured. This statute of limitations may be extended by the court in certain circumstances.
Contact a Kentucky Vaccine Injury Lawyer
If you or your child suffered a dangerous reaction to a vaccine like the flu shot or Gardasil HPV shot, please speak with a Kentucky Vaccine Injury Lawyer about your options. You may be eligible for substantial compensation through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program or a lawsuit.
Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, wants to inform patients and their families of the benefits available and how inaction could rob them of money to cover hospital bills and lost income.
Our skilled vaccine injury attorneys offer a free, confidential consultation to all victims in Kentucky. Contact us so we can make sure your family secures the support they need to rebuild their lives.
