Vaccination Injury
What Is a Vaccination Injury?
Vaccines can save lives by preventing disease, but if you or a loved one has sustained a vaccination injury, you need a smart legal team on your side. Find immediate legal help by calling now or choosing one of the options below. Also, continue reading for more information about vaccines, the injuries they may cause and your legal options.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccines have the same viruses or bacteria that cause illnesses. The vaccine, though, includes a weakened or dead version of the disease-causing agent. After an injection, the person receiving the vaccine develops antibodies to specific illnesses, effectively making him or her immune from the disease.
Most people who receive vaccines have a successful immunity boost for many serious illnesses and diseases. While vaccines may be useful for preventing certain types of diseases, some vaccine recipients develop serious health problems or other complications after receiving a vaccine. A vaccination injury lawyer can help you determine if you have a claim.
It can be difficult to determine exactly how many individuals vaccines harm every year. Furthermore, it can be challenging to link a vaccine injury to a person’s ongoing medical issues. Nonetheless, the federal government offers a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for people who have had adverse reactions to the vaccines they have received.
What Are Some Common Types of Vaccination Injuries?
It is perfectly normal to experience some minor soreness around the vaccine injection site. However, vaccines should not cause significant harm. If you or a loved one has experienced pain, loss of body functions or even death after a vaccine, you should talk to a vaccination injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Some of the more commonly reported vaccination injuries include the following:
- Shoulder injuries
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Anaphylaxis
- Myelitis
- Encephalitis
Vaccination-Related Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder injuries may occur from the way a health professional administers the vaccine or from the contents of the vaccine. Vaccine-related shoulder injuries may range from ongoing pain at the injection site to a complete loss of muscle movement in the arm. While often temporary, vaccination-related shoulder injuries may be permanent.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Research has linked the vaccination injury, Guillain-Barre syndrome, to different types of vaccines, one of which is the annual flu shot. The condition happens when the immune system attacks itself, causing damage to nerve cells. While the symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome range in severity, they often include paralysis and muscular weakness. Typically resolving within a few weeks, Guillain-Barre syndrome may cause permanent nerve damage. This nerve damage may result in loss of motion, paralysis and other ongoing complications.
Anaphylaxis
Before administering a vaccine, healthcare professionals should check for known patient allergies. If a vaccine recipient happens to be allergic to the ingredients in the vaccine, the injection may cause an allergic reaction. A person who has a vaccine allergy may experience hives, fevers, fainting, shortness of breath and even anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening to the vaccine recipient. Regrettably, though, an individual may not realize he or she has a dangerous allergy to vaccination ingredients until after receiving the vaccination.
Encephalitis
Encephalitis sometimes happens when there is an infection in the body. It can also be the result of the body’s response to an infection. This condition results in swelling of brain tissue. Some of the more common symptoms of encephalitis are pain, fever, headaches, fatigue and weakness. While the symptoms of encephalitis may resolve over a few weeks, doctors must closely monitor the potentially life-threatening condition.
Myelitis
While encephalitis is swelling of the brain, myelitis involves inflammation of the spinal cord. Nonetheless, doctors and scientists do not completely understand the causes myelitis. Still, some patients have developed spinal cord inflammation after vaccine injection. Swelling around the spinal cord may cause a variety of complications, including paralysis, pain and loss of muscular control.
What Is the Legal Process for a Vaccination Injury?
Even if the symptoms you experienced after your vaccine are not in the above list, you may still have a vaccination injury.
If you have sustained an injury from a vaccination, you should seek immediate medical attention and follow the advice of your doctor. You should also seek a legal opinion as quickly as possible. Because a vaccine-related injury can result in extreme consequences that interfere with your everyday life, you may be able to pursue financial compensation. Nevertheless, you must take the proper steps to exercise your legal rights as a vaccination injury victim.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Hiring a legal professional can help determine if you qualify for compensation under the program. A lawyer can also explain your other legal options, such as filing a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturer or the healthcare professional who administered the vaccine.
You should understand the claims process is very complex. If you do not properly assert you claim, you may receive a denial. This, in turn, jeopardizes your odds of receiving reasonable financial compensation for your vaccination injury.
Work With an Experienced Local Lawyer
The purpose of a vaccine is to improve your quality of life by keeping you healthy. Unfortunately, if you suffer a serious injury after a vaccination, your life may never be the same again. While you may be able to receive financial compensation for your vaccine injury, the process is not easy. That is why hiring an experienced and dedicated vaccine injury attorney is essential for you to receive the maximum possible compensation you deserve as a victim.
As you or your loved one begins your journey towards recovering from your vaccination injury, hiring an experienced vaccination injury lawyer will greatly impact the quality of assistance, the type of settlement you are able to file and how much you are able to receive from your settlement.
If you are looking to hire a vaccination injury lawyer that is committed to fighting for you and to providing you with the best possible legal help for your injury or for the injury of your loved one, we are here for you.
Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!