Nursing:
July 2012 - Volume 42 - Issue 7 - p 1?4
doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000414800.30596.4c
Online exclusive
Taking vaccine-related injuries to court
Follows, Jill JD, RN
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT considers vaccines to be a primary prevention for many infectious diseases, including seasonal influenza (flu). For many years, federal government advisory committees have recommended annual vaccination for seasonal influenza in all healthcare personnel.1
Most nurses and patients don't miss a beat following seasonal influenza vaccination. However, a few people develop serious illnesses, such as Guillain-Barr? syndrome (GBS) or transverse myelitis following vaccination. (See Comparing GBS with transverse myelitis.)
Using the cases of two nurses who believed they were injured by a seasonal flu vaccine, this article explains legal avenues for compensation for such an injury, including what the court requires to prove a claim. Some vaccine injury compensation claims are settled early and efficiently. Other claims are prepared for a formal hearing in court. The specific facts of each claim dictate the degree and extent of claim investigation, the need for legal discovery tools such as depositions, and the complexity of the hearing process before the court...
