Questions and Answers Part 1

My niece is 17 years old and got a vaccination. After one week we noticed a bruise around it, it kept getting worst

We took her to the doctor and they said to put ice over it. After that her whole arm was bruised and she was in pain. We took her to the ER and she got an emergency surgery. Turns out that she had an infection cellulite and a bacteria. She was in …

Phyllis’s Answer

It is possible that your niece has a valid claim within the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. This program is monitored by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the program is to compensate people like your niece who may be injured by a vaccine.

While a rare occurrence, people are injured by vaccines, whether by the injection or from the injected vaccine. If your niece’s injury was a result of the vaccine itself, then she may have a viable claim in the vaccine court. The Health and Human Services website provides the Vaccine Injury Table, which sets forth the vaccines and injuries they cover. Even if the injury is not listed on the table, your niece may still have a valid claim, but she would have a more difficult time proving causation (linking the vaccine to the injury). Without more facts, I cannot discern if her injury would be considered an “on-table injury” or “an off-table injury.” However, you can refer to the website for more information.

One of the requirements for filing a lawsuit is that the injury required hospitalization and surgery. Your niece meets that requirement, which makes that claim more viable.

With regard to the method by which the vaccine was administered, that could rise to the level of a medical malpractice claim, however I do not practice law in California, therefore, I do not know the law and rules pertaining to medical malpractice in your state. My advice is to seek a medical malpractice attorney to assist in that regard.

If this is a vaccine injury case it would be handled in the federal court (the United States Court of Federal Claims), You should seek the advice of a vaccine injury attorney from any state, as long as that lawyer is admitted in the US Court of Federal Claims.

My suggestion is that you find a vaccine injury lawyer. As I stated above, that lawyer does not have to be licensed to practice in your state in order to file a vaccine injury claim in the proper venue.

Be aware that there is a strict statute of limitations with regard to filing a lawsuit in the Vaccine Court, that is the claim must be filed within three (3) years from the date of the first onset of symptoms. This statute of limitations begins to run right away and does not toll (or stop) even if the plaintiff is a minor.

I cannot advise you on medical malpractice law in California.

I wish you and your niece luck.

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