Can i sue pfizer

This law empowers the HHS secretary to provide legal protection to companies making or distributing critical medical supplies, such as vaccines. This protection lasts until With this law, the vaccine companies cannot be taken to courts for damages over any casualties related to vaccine inoculation. The coronavirus vaccines have been manufactured in record time. The process that takes a couple of years normally was stepped up and completed in less than a year as world faced a never-seen-before crisis.

Meanwhile, American Vice President Mike Pence will publicly receive the coronavirus vaccine on Friday as the Trump administration scrambles to build public support for an inoculation that promises to stanch the deadly pandemic. Anti-discrimination laws provide some protections as well. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, workers who don't want to be vaccinated for medical reasons are eligible to request an exemption. If taking the vaccine is a violation of a "sincerely held" religious belief, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of would potentially provide a way to opt out.

Should none of these exemptions apply, employees may have some legal recourse if they suffer debilitating side effects following a work-mandated Covid inoculation. Attorneys say claims would most likely be routed through worker's compensation programs and treated as an on-the-job injury. He added that it would likely be difficult to prove. Mandatory vaccination protocols, however, may not happen until the FDA formally approves the vaccines and grants Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna a license to sell them, which will take several more months of data to show their safety and effectiveness.

The language in the act is somewhat unclear on that. The government has created a way for people to recover some damages should something go wrong following immunization. The little-known government program has been around for a decade , and it is managed by an agency under HHS. This fund typically only deals with vaccines you probably would never get, like the H1N1 and anthrax vaccines. It won't cover legal fees or anything to compensate for pain and suffering.

But experts specializing in vaccine law say it is difficult to navigate. Also worrisome to some vaccine injury lawyers is the fact that the CICP has rejected a majority of the compensation requests made since the program began 10 years ago. Proving an injury was a direct result of the Covid vaccine could be difficult, according to Carney. There is also a strict one-year statute , meaning that all claims have to be filed within 12 months of receiving the vaccine.

Lawyers tell CNBC that it would make more sense for Covid vaccine injuries to instead be routed through another program under the HHS called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program , which handles claims for 16 routine vaccines. The VICP also gives you more time to file your claim. You have three years from the date of the first symptom to file for compensation. That's it, unless there's a death. Reiss said the best fix would be to change VICP's rulebook to add Covid vaccines to its list of covered inoculations.

CICP also limits benefits to medical bills and lost income. Benefits under CICP are much more difficult to get as well. Over the last decade, of a total claims made, CICP has paid a mere CICP benefits include:.

CICP has been criticized for its lack of transparency and a perceived stinginess when it comes to paying claims. Experts in the field have raised additional concerns about the program's ability to handle an influx of claims on the heels of the large swath of consumers expected to receive the COVID vaccine.

CICP does not pay attorneys' fees or expert witness fees, and doesn't hold hearings or allow for appeals. A medical malpractice claim related to the COVID vaccine would likely only be feasible if based on improper administration or storage. For example, if the health care provider gave the wrong dosage or reused a syringe, a patient might have a viable malpractice claim. But potential malpractice claims covered under CICP would likely be preempted by the federal government.

Another area of concern with COVID vaccines is the ultra-cold temperatures at which they must be stored the "cold chain". Although the Moderna vaccine can be stored at normal freezer temperature, the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at degrees Celsius.

While Pfizer monitors in-transit vaccine temperatures, once the medication is delivered, the recipient is charged with temperature control. Pfizer's insistence that the government take responsibility for temperature monitoring after delivery will likely only promote the good public relations Pfizer has fostered with its quick vaccine rollout. Until the COVID vaccine is approved for use in children and pregnant women, a move to vaccine court is unlikely. For in-depth discussion of key legal issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, check out Nolo's special coverage: The Law and Your Legal Rights During the Coronavirus Outbreak.

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