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Another court rejects a vaccine injury claim

A 58-year-old man claims that his coronavirus vaccination is the reason for the massive deterioration in his vision in one eye. But his lawsuit fails.

Drawn-up syringes with vaccine against Covid-19 lie in a tray. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
Drawn-up syringes with vaccine against Covid-19 lie in a tray. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Health - Another court rejects a vaccine injury claim

The Rottweil Regional Court has dismissed a claim for alleged damage caused by a coronavirus vaccination. The lawsuit was brought by a 58-year-old man. He accuses the vaccine manufacturer Biontech of causing almost complete blindness in his right eye as a result of a coronavirus vaccination. The man is demanding 150,000 euros in compensation from the Mainz-based company and a declaration that he must be compensated for all further damages. The plaintiff has one month to appeal against Wednesday's ruling, as the regional court announced.

This is not the first case of its kind in Germany. In some cases, lawsuits have already been dismissed at first instance. Some proceedings have not yet been concluded.

According to the court, a vaccine manufacturer is only liable for harmful side effects if these exceed the overall benefit of the drug. The second prerequisite for liability would be if, for example, the package leaflet of the medicine did not sufficiently point out the harmful consequences. The Second Civil Chamber did not consider either requirement to be met.

Most recently, the Düsseldorf Regional Court dismissed claims for damages and compensation for pain and suffering against two vaccine manufacturers for alleged damage caused by coronavirus vaccinations as unfounded. Two women and one man had filed a lawsuit against the Mainz-based vaccine manufacturer Biontech. The Mainz Regional Court had also dismissed a woman's lawsuit against Astrazeneca for compensation for possible coronavirus vaccination damage.

In principle, the same liability rules apply to Covid-19 vaccines as to other medicinal products, for example under the German Drug Law or the Product Liability Act. The manufacturer can be held liable if there is a production error, for example. The important thing is: Can the damage be attributed to the vaccination? When the coronavirus vaccine was procured via the EU, it was agreed with the manufacturers that in the event of successful claims - except in special cases - the respective member states would cover the manufacturer's compensation and legal costs.

And there are recognized vaccine injuries. Rare and very rare cases include the heart disease myo-/pericarditis, sinus vein thrombosis occurring in the brain and other blood clots, facial paralysis, a muscle weakness called Guillain-Barré syndrome and the hearing impairment tinnitus. According to the German Medicines Act, "serious adverse reactions" are vaccination consequences "that are fatal or life-threatening, require inpatient treatment or prolongation of inpatient treatment, lead to permanent or serious disability, invalidity, congenital anomalies or birth defects".

By the end of March, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut had received 340,282 reports of suspected cases of adverse reactions or vaccination complications following Covid-19 vaccines. Of these, 1949 cases did not specify which vaccine was used. In 56,432 cases, a suspected serious vaccination side effect was reported, 946 of which did not specify the vaccine. These statistics do not indicate whether the suspicion was later confirmed. At the same time, according to the Robert Koch Institute, 192,208,062 Covid-19 vaccinations were administered in Germany. The reporting rate for all vaccines approved in Germany was 1.77 reports per 1000 vaccine doses.

In addition to civil proceedings before the courts, there is another way for those affected to hope for compensation. This is via the pension office of the respective federal state. The office decides whether there is an entitlement to state benefits in the event of vaccination damage. This is a matter of pension benefits, not compensation for pain and suffering or damages. Benefits include, for example, pension payments depending on the severity of the health damage, medical treatment or survivors' benefits. Thousands of claims for benefits due to coronavirus vaccinations have been received nationwide so far. Several hundred people have been granted pension claims.

Procedure for recognizing vaccination damage in the federal states Legal definition of vaccination damage Infection Protection Act on vaccination damage Paul-Ehrlich-Institut on side effects of vaccines RKI on vaccinations Drug law - liability for damage Reporting forms for doctors and consumers in the event of suspected vaccination complications

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Source: www.stern.de

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