Texas Vaccine Injury Lawyer

If a vaccine caused injury to you or your loved one, you could be entitled to up to $250,000 from the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Although it is very rare, vaccine do occasionally cause severe injuries or death. Since its inception, the fund has paid more than $3.2 billion to help thousands of people injured by vaccines.

Do I Have a Vaccine Injury Lawsuit? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a severe vaccine side effect, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.

Report Raises Concern About Vaccine Injury Claims

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a concerning report (PDF) on the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). The report raises concern that legitimate vaccine injury claims are not being filed due to a lack of awareness, and when they are filed, the government fights tooth-and-nail to deny or delay the claims. Click here to read more.

Overview

Every year, millions of infants, children, and adults are vaccinated against life-threatening illnesses. As a result of vaccines, many of these illnesses have been eradicated or greatly reduced. Despite the benefits, vaccines have side effects, like all medications. These side effects are far less common than the disease they prevent, but in some cases, vaccine side effects can be very severe. Known side effects include high fever, seizure, brain damage, severe allergic reaction, and more.

Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)

To help the victims of vaccine injuries and prevent lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, Congress established the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in 1989 with a $0.75 tax on all vaccines. When people are injured by vaccines, they are encouraged to submit a claim to the Vaccine Court in Washington D.C. There, experts review each case and decide whether to award compensation. If there is a high likelihood that the vaccine caused the injury, they can award up to $250,000 in financial compensation.

Severe Vaccine Side Effects

Routine Childhood Vaccines Covered by the VICP

The vaccine injury must have been caused by a vaccine that is recommended as a routine childhood immunization, booster shot, or other recommended vaccine. This may include the following:

Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTP, DTaP, Tdap, DT, Td, or TT)
Flu shot
Haemophilius influenzae type b (Hib)
Hepatitis A (HAV)
Hepatitis B (HBV)
Influenza / flu (TIV, LAIV) [given once a year during flu season]
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR, MR, M, R)
Meningitis / meningococcal (MCV4, MPSV4)
Polio (OPV or IPV)
Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV)
Rotavirus
Varicella / chickenpox (VZV)

Vaccines Not Covered by VICP

Zostavax (shingles vaccine) is not covered by the VICP because it is not routinely given to children. However, our lawyers are investigating legal claims involving people who developed shingles, chickenpox, or complications of those infections after receiving the vaccine.

Was Your Injury Caused by a Vaccine?

Some injuries are only accepted if they occurred soon after the vaccine was administered (for example, allergic reaction must have occurred within 4 hours of the vaccine). You can consult the official Vaccine Injury Table by clicking here. For many vaccines, there is “no condition specified.” This means that the Vaccine Court will decide every claim on a case-by case basis.

Other Requirements for Vaccine Injury Lawsuits

Another requirement is that you must file your vaccine injury claim within a certain amount of time. You have three years for an injury claim, two years for a claim for death, and four years for a death that was caused by an injury.

The VICP only awards compensation to injuries that are very serious. This means that the injury must have lasted at least six months, or required hospitalization or surgery, or caused death.

Finally, only people directly affected may apply. This means that the vaccine must have harmed you, your child, or your family member who is deceased/disabled as a result of the vaccine. The legal guardians of injured people could also be eligible.

Vaccine Injury Lawyer

Most people who wish to file a vaccine injury claim decide to hire a qualified vaccine injury lawyer. You are not required to hire a lawyer, but there are several benefits to doing so.

The VICP does not award compensation to all vaccine injury claims. You must be able to convince the court that there is a high probability that your injury was caused by the vaccine. An experienced vaccine injury attorney can help you make the best case possible, for the highest amount of compensation you deserve.

Another good reason to hire a vaccine injury attorney is that the entire legal process can take 2-3 years to adjudicate. So long as certain minimal requirements are met, the VICP will pay for your attorney’s fees. However, the VICP does not pay the fees of people who represent themselves.

Do I have a Vaccine Injury Lawsuit?

Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.

Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”

The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $260 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact us for a free case review.