Joyce Folse, Executive Director of the Memphis Area Pharmacists Society, would like to add to this, “The timing of these proposed changes by the Department of Health and Human Services could not be worse.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), responsible for the administration of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP), recently announced its intent to propose revisions to the Vaccine Injury Table. The revisions would remove two of the most common injuries, syncope and shoulder injuries, from coverage.
As one of the most effective ways to protect against harmful diseases, vaccinations are safely administered to the vast majority of recipients. In the rare event that an injury does occur, the NVICP serves as a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system and may provide financial compensation for individuals injured by certain vaccines. The Vaccine Injury Table specifies which vaccines are covered; spells out the covered injuries, disabilities, illnesses, and conditions; and gives a time frame for the onset of any injury.
“For decades, the NVICP has drastically reduced the number of civil lawsuits brought against any individual or entity involved in the manufacturing or administration of covered vaccines,” said Michael G. McLaren, an attorney with Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C. “The removal of syncope and shoulder injury would almost certainly risk exposing those involved in the manufacturing or administration of vaccinations to legal liability.”
In proposing the change, HHS posits that shoulder injury and syncope result from human error and are therefore not “no-fault” injuries, arguing that only injuries resulting from the vaccine antigen, as opposed to improper technique, should be compensable in the NVICP.
“Without addressing whether HHS’s legal interpretation is accurate, it is undeniable that the majority of recent claims involve allegations of shoulder injuries,” said William E. Cochran, Jr., an attorney with Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C. “If HHS is successful with its proposed rule change, pharmaceutical companies, medical facilities, physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and pharmacists will almost certainly face significant exposure to legal claims and resultant financial liability for shoulder injuries and syncope.”
HHS has presented its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV), currently charged with considering the proposal and providing feedback to HHS in May 2020. The Vaccine Injured Petitioner’s Bar Association is contesting the rule change, and asking for help from those that are most likely to face legal exposure.
“Our immediate goal is to encourage organizations that will be impacted by this rule to review the Notice of Proposed Rule Making and communicate concerns to the ACCV,” said Chris J. Webb, an attorney with Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C.
To address concerns to the ACCV, contact them here:
Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines
Division of Injury Compensation Programs
5600 Fishers Lane, 08N146B
Rockville, MD 20857
Tamara Overby
Acting Director, DICP
Executive Secretary, ACCV
5600 Fishers Lane, 08N146B
Rockville, MD 20857
Toverby@hrsa.com
Joyce Folse, Executive Director of the Memphis Area Pharmacists Society, would like to add to this, ““The timing of these proposed changes by the Department of Health and Human Services could not be worse as lives and livelihoods are being lost every day due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that has no vaccine. “Those most affected by the proposed rule change deserve a fair and adequate amount of time to review the proposal and voice their concerns.”
About Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C. (www.bmjrglaw.com)
Founded in 1994, Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee, P.C. is a law firm specializing in a wide range of legal practice areas including family law, insurance defense, contract law, civil litigation, vaccine law, estate and probate, subrogation, criminal law, and others. The firm is comprised of attorneys licensed in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and New York. Their attorneys are admitted to practice in federal courts, including, but not limited to various United States District Courts, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the United States Supreme Court.
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