In a recent blog, we noted the increase in vaccine injury claims. Two types of claims noted to be on the rise are flu shot injury claims where a patient is diagnosed with Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS) secondary to nerve inflammation from the injection. The others are SIRVA claims. These are injuries of various types to the shoulder from the injection (needle injury), and not the vaccine itself. Accordingly, the Vaccine Injury Table was amended effective March 21, 2017 to reflect a number of additions and changes to include adding GBS and SIRVA claims. These changes were made in part to expedite the processing of these categories of claims. This means that if an injection injury claim meets the criteria listed in the table, then there is a legal presumption that the vaccine (or in the case of an injury from the injection itself) was the cause of the injury or condition, unless proven otherwise. This is important because prior to this amendment to the Table if the prospective injury claim was not covered as a table and therefore the claimant technically had the burden of proving through expert witness testimony that the claimed injuries were caused by the vaccine and/or the administration of the vaccine. This new change is extremely advantageous for these types of claims.
If you think you have suffered a SIRVA or shoulder injury related to vaccine administration, please contact our vaccine injury attorneys.