Virginia Vaccine Injury Attorney

Widman Law Firm is able to file claims for vaccine related injuries occurring in the State of Virginia. The admission required to bring vaccine injury claims in front of the Court of Federal Claims, the special court in which vaccine injury claims are heard, is a federal admission. Therefore, Phyllis Widman, Esq. is fully admitted and prepared to bring your vaccine injury claims in all 50 states and D.C., including Virginia. Whether you are in Richmond, Norfolk, Alexandria, Charlottesville, Arlington, Williamsburg, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, or anywhere in between, the attorneys at Widman Law Firm are prepared to provide you and your family with high quality legal representation for your vaccine injury claim all across Virginia.

In the 1970’s and 80’s, the Pertussis vaccine came under heavy fire from parents and activists who alleged that the shot caused permanent brain injury in children. In light of legal action taken against manufacturers of the vaccine, as well as the public outcry surrounding the situation, drug companies ceased production of that vital immunization. The controversy reached a crescendo in the mid 1980’s, when only one maker of the Pertussis vaccine remained in the United States.

As a result, the U.S. Government was forced to step in and protect vaccine manufacturers to ensure the uninterrupted production and distribution of vaccines. In 1986, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was signed into law, which mitigated the risk of drug companies by absolving them of their financial liability for injuries caused by vaccines. Two years later, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, or VICP, was established: the government-run system responsible for compensating the victims of vaccine-related damages.

The VICP, which is funded by an excise tax placed on all vaccine purchases within the U.S., has granted over $4.4 BILLION dollars in compensation.

An arm of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the VICP is a legal system; as such, filing a claim for compensation in the program is a legal process. It is therefore recommended to proceed with an experienced attorney admitted to practice in the federal courts, though one may reserve the right to represent themselves.

To qualify for compensation or medical expense reimbursement in the VICP, the injured must prove the following: that they received a vaccine recognized by the Program; that the injury they suffered is reflected on the Vaccine Injury Table; and that the injury occurred within a certain amount of time.

The VICP covers many routine inoculations, such as:

• Chickenpox
• HPV
• Hepatitis B
• Seasonal Flu
• Rotavirus
• Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccines
• Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis vaccines
• And more

A few of the recognized vaccine injuries are:

• SIRVA, a number of conditions which affect the site of vaccine administration, most commonly the shoulder;
• ADEM, a disorder in which the body attacks its own brain and spine;
• GBS, an autoimmune disorder affecting the nerves and resulting in different levels of paralysis;
• CIDP, the chronic version of GBS

The VICP may grant a pain and suffering award up to $250,000, uncapped reimbursement of medical expenses and lost wages as a result of the injury, and/or an annuity in an amount consistent with the petitioner’s projected living costs for the remainder of their life. If a vaccine or vaccine administration resulted in death, the deceased’s family may receive up to $250,000 in the form of a death benefit.

Additionally, the Program reimburses all attorneys fees (or legal costs, if the petitioner opted to represent themselves) as long as a claim was filed legitimately and in good faith.

While the VICP protected drug companies against vaccine injuries from some routine immunizations, it didn’t offer protection against everything. After September 11th, 2001, said companies anticipated a possible chemical, biological, or other unconventional terror attack which could result in a public health emergency. Understanding that they would need to create countermeasures against such attacks, but that those countermeasures would likely be expedited and therefore less safe than more-tested medicines, Big Pharma realized they faced potentially catastrophic financial risk if left unprotected.

So, drug makers lobbied in Washington for liability protection, and in 2005, they got it. The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act removed financial liability from pharmaceutical companies for injuries sustained as a result of the testing or administration of emergency countermeasures. And, just as the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act led to the establishment of the VICP, the PREP Act ushered in the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP).

Just as the VICP compensates the unfortunate few injured by vaccines, the CICP reimburses those damaged by emergency countermeasures such as those developed to fight COVID-19.

Of the COVID-countermeasure claims in the CICP, the COVID-19 vaccine appears most frequently.

Unlike the VICP, the CICP does not have a legal claims process, but an administrative one. That said, one may still wish to proceed with a specialized attorney who can navigate the federal bureaucracy. It should be noted that the CICP does not reimburse attorneys fees like its sister program.

While the CICP does not pay out for pain and suffering experienced as a result of a countermeasure-related injury, it will pay up to $379,000 in lost wages (not to exceed $50,000 per year), as well as reimbursement for medical bills and other expenses associated with the injury. For an emergency countermeasure-related death, the loved ones of the deceased may be entitled to a death benefit up to $370,000.

At Widman Law Firm, we have prioritized our vaccine cases and our vaccine-injured clients from the very beginning. We’ve achieved millions of dollars in compensation for those clients - money that has not only paid for their suffering and living expenses, but has also bought them peace of mind.

We’ve fought for them, and now we’re prepared to fight for you.

Give us a call or send us an email to learn more about filing in the VICP or CICP today. Don’t delay - the VICP has a statute of limitations of THREE years, and the CICP a statute of only ONE year, in which to file for compensation. Once your window to file a claim in either program closes, it’s closed for good.