For the most part, vaccines are a very good thing. Ever since Edward Jenner first inoculated people against smallpox in 1796, the development and use of vaccines has been of immense benefit to people across the globe.
It is no exaggeration to say millions of lives have been spared disease, suffering and death due to the development and use of vaccines. Nevertheless, vaccines can cause allergic reactions and side effects, some of which can be extremely harmful and debilitating. The U.S. Congress recognized this fact in 1986, when it established the national Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) to compensate people injured by receiving certain vaccines.
Experienced Attorneys For Federal Vaccine Injury Claims
At Matthews Law Group in Sacramento, California, we help clients in Northern California and throughout the nation to obtain compensation following vaccine-related injuries or the death of loved ones.
Our founding attorney, Diane Matthews, is a medical malpractice lawyer and certified RN. She is also among the few California attorneys admitted to practice in the United States Court of Federal Claims. This is important because all vaccine claims are handled in this court. If you, your child or your spouse has had a severe reaction to a vaccine, this is the court that hears your claim.
Contact us to learn more about your options for filing a vaccine injury claim.
Why You Need An Experienced Attorney For Your VICP Claim
The VICP was initially intended to provide an easy path for people injured by vaccines to obtain compensation without the need for an attorney. Unfortunately, like many legal solutions created by bureaucracies, the opposite has happened.
Vaccine claims are now highly specialized, detailed and difficult — too difficult for a layperson to complete without significant risk of failure. Fortunately, claimants are now allowed to hire attorneys to represent them in vaccine injury claims and any resulting litigation.Please note that the federal government will pay a claimant's attorney fees on any valid vaccine injury claim.
At Matthews Law Group, we highly recommend that anyone seeking a vaccine claim retain an experienced and knowledgeable vaccine injury attorney. Considering that any vaccine compensation case is actually a legal action against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, you need the best legal representation possible to ensure that your claim obtains a fair hearing.
Vaccine Reactions Are Real
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than $2.6 billion has been paid in more than 3,400 cases since 1989, when the first VICP claims were filed*.
Among the vaccines the government recognizes as potential causes for disorders are:
- Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) or any vaccine containing any of those components
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines
- Haemophilus influenzae "Type B" vaccines
- Trivalent influenza vaccines (injectable and nasal spray)
- Hepatitis A vaccines
- Hepatitis B antigen-containing vaccines
- Meningococcal vaccines
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines
- Polio vaccines
- Rotavirus vaccine
- Td or tetanus toxoid
- Varicella vaccine
- DTaP, DTaP-Hib, DT
- DTP, P, DTP/polio combination
Vaccines have also been suspected of causing or contributing to the following disorders that are not on the above list:
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- Acute demyelinating encephalopathy myopathy (ADEM)
- Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
- Other demyelinating central nervous system disorders or peripheral nervous system disorders
- Seizures
- Autism
The Clock Is Ticking On Your Vaccine Claim | Contact Attorney Diane M. Matthews Today
It is important that you act quickly if you believe that you, your child, or your spouse has been injured due to a vaccine. To be eligible for compensation under VICP, claims must be filed within three years after the first symptom of the vaccine injury, or within two years of a vaccine-related death. There are also limitations as to how long a claim can be filed after the start of the first symptoms.
Meet with a lawyer at Matthews Law Group, and we can answer all of your questions about vaccine injuries and compensation, as well as the process for seeking compensation. We have helped many people in your situation in the past, and we look forward to discussing your options for the future.
For more information, contact us online or call me at 916-833-0550 toll free.
*Information provided by U.S. Health Resources And Services Administration (http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/data.html)