A serious health problem after a vaccination can raise questions about medical care, missed work, and whether compensation is available. For someone dealing with a suspected vaccine injury in New Jersey, the legal path depends on the vaccine involved, the injury, and the evidence connecting the two.
Many claims involving routinely administered vaccines go through the federal National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). Claims involving COVID-19 vaccines currently go through a different federal program. A possible error in administering the vaccine may require separate legal analysis.
Key Takeaways About Vaccine Injury Legal Options in New Jersey
- The VICP covers many routinely administered vaccines, while COVID-19 vaccine claims currently go through the CICP.
- A health problem occurring after vaccination does not, by itself, prove that the vaccine caused it.
- Each program has its own injury requirements, filing deadline, and available benefits.
- Medical records documenting the vaccine, first symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment can be critical.
- A civil lawsuit may be possible in limited circumstances, but federal law can restrict claims against vaccine manufacturers and administrators.
What Legal Recourse May Be Available for a Vaccine Injury in New Jersey?
The first step is to identify which program, if any, covers the vaccine. The answer affects where a claim is filed, what must be proven, and how soon action is required.
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a federal process for injuries associated with covered vaccines. These include seasonal influenza and certain tetanus, measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. A VICP petition is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Coverage depends on the vaccine category and other program requirements; receiving a vaccine in New Jersey does not make the claim a New Jersey court case.
COVID-19 vaccine claims currently follow the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Other vaccines used as covered emergency countermeasures may also fall under that program. The CICP has different rules for proving an injury and provides different benefits.
An evaluation should begin with the vaccine name, administration date, vaccination record, first symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment history. It should also consider whether the suspected harm arose from the vaccine or from a possible error in how care was provided.
What Evidence Helps Support a Vaccine Injury Claim?
A condition developing after vaccination does not automatically establish causation. Medical evidence must support the claim under the rules of the applicable program.
For a VICP claim, the Vaccine Injury Table is especially important. It identifies certain injuries associated with covered vaccines and specifies when symptoms must begin. If an injury meets the Table’s requirements, the program generally presumes the vaccine caused it unless another cause is established. An injury that is not listed, or does not meet the Table’s requirements, may still support a petition, but the claimant must prove that the vaccine caused it.
The CICP covers qualifying serious physical injuries and deaths. For an injury that does not meet an applicable countermeasure injury table’s requirements, the CICP requires compelling, reliable, valid medical and scientific evidence that the covered countermeasure directly caused the injury. Timing alone is insufficient.
Several questions can help identify the evidence a claim needs:
- When did the first symptom appear, and was it recorded at the time?
- Do the diagnosis and symptom timeline meet the requirements of an applicable injury table?
- Have treating physicians identified another possible cause?
- Does the injury meet the applicable program’s severity requirements?
- What treatment, work limitations, and other losses are documented?
Conflicting dates, gaps in treatment, or preexisting conditions do not necessarily rule out a claim. They may, however, require closer review of the medical evidence.
How Medical Records and Expert Opinions May Be Used
Medical documentation helps establish what happened before and after vaccination. Vaccination records, primary care and specialist notes, diagnostic tests, hospital records, and rehabilitation records may all be relevant.
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act addresses the records submitted with a VICP petition, including vaccination and relevant medical records. A VICP injury claim generally must involve effects lasting more than six months after vaccination, inpatient hospitalization and surgical intervention, or death.
Expert medical opinions may be particularly useful when an injury does not qualify for a Table presumption or when another cause is disputed. An opinion needs to explain how the medical evidence supports a connection; the fact that vaccination came first is not enough on its own.
What Deadlines May Apply to Vaccine Injury Claims?
A person should not assume the filing period begins when a doctor reaches a final diagnosis or attributes a condition to a vaccine.
For a VICP injury petition, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act generally allows three years from the first symptom or manifestation of onset, or of significant aggravation. A vaccine-related death petition generally must be filed within two years of death and within four years of the first manifestation of the injury from which the death resulted. Special rules may apply after certain changes to the Vaccine Injury Table.
For the CICP, a Request for Benefits generally must be filed within one year after the covered countermeasure was administered or used. Limited rules concerning changes to a countermeasure injury table may affect particular claims, but someone considering a COVID-19 vaccine claim should not wait for a final diagnosis before checking the deadline.
When Might a Civil Lawsuit Be Possible?
A vaccine injury does not automatically permit a person to bypass a federal compensation program and sue a manufacturer or vaccine administrator. For covered vaccine-related injuries, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act generally requires a VICP petition before certain civil claims for more than $1,000, or for an unspecified amount, can proceed against those parties. After a judgment and the required election, or a qualifying withdrawal, further litigation may be possible. Other legal limits can still apply.
COVID-19 vaccine claims raise different issues. The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, commonly called the PREP Act, provides broad immunity to covered persons for claims involving covered countermeasures when the applicable declaration’s conditions are met. It provides a narrow federal cause of action for serious physical injury or death proximately caused by willful misconduct. Ordinary negligence does not meet that exception.
An incorrect injection technique, administration of the wrong product, or another alleged medical error also needs careful review. The facts determine whether the harm falls within a federal program, federal immunity protections, New Jersey medical negligence law, or a combination of these rules. An administration error does not automatically create a separate state lawsuit.
What Compensation May Be Available for a Vaccine Injury?
The available benefits depend on the program as well as the injury and documented losses.
For an eligible VICP claim, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act permits compensation for qualifying unreimbursed medical and rehabilitative expenses, impaired earning capacity, and pain and suffering and emotional distress. Pain and suffering and emotional distress are subject to a combined $250,000 cap. The statute also provides a $250,000 death award to the estate in a qualifying vaccine-related death case.
CICP benefits are narrower. Depending on eligibility, they can include certain unreimbursed medical expenses, lost employment income, and survivor death benefits. The CICP is a payer of last resort, meaning other available sources of payment are taken into account. A person generally must have been unable to work for more than five days to receive lost employment income benefits. The program does not compensate pain and suffering or pay attorney fees and costs.
The diagnosis alone does not establish what compensation may be available. Treatment needs, work history, insurance payments, and the injury’s lasting effects all matter under the applicable program’s rules.
How Can a New Jersey Vaccine Injury Lawyer Help?
A lawyer can identify the vaccine and potentially applicable program, review filing deadlines, gather vaccination and medical records, and assess whether the evidence supports a claim. Where appropriate, an attorney may consult medical experts and examine whether a separate claim arising from an alleged medical error warrants investigation.
For VICP petitions, federal law permits an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs separately from injury compensation when its requirements are met. Fees may also be awarded for an unsuccessful petition filed in good faith and with a reasonable basis. The CICP does not provide the same payment of legal fees.
Reviewing the matter early can help preserve vaccination records, establish an accurate symptom timeline, and identify the correct filing deadline while treatment continues.
Need Legal Help? Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law is One Phone Call Away
A suspected vaccine injury may involve federal compensation rules, medical evidence, and, in some circumstances, questions about how the vaccine was administered. The vaccine involved and the timing of the injury are central to determining which options may be available.
Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law can review the circumstances of a suspected vaccine injury in New Jersey and help assess the applicable process and deadlines.