Polio Vaccine Lawsuit

If you have suffered a severe polio vaccine side effect, your vaccine injury lawsuit could be worth up to $250,000 in financial compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). Although the polio vaccine is one of the safest vaccines, in rare cases, it can cause severe side effects. For example, a sudden allergic reaction could block off a person’s airway, and the lack of oxygen could cause organ damage, disability, or death.

What You Can Do & How a Polio Vaccine Lawsuit Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Polio vaccine injury claims in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by Polio Vaccine, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Polio Vaccine Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

Polio Vaccine Overview

The polio vaccine is the best way to prevent polio (poliomyelitis), a highly infectious disease that can cause paralysis, severe infection, and even death in rare cases. Polio is caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestines. Infection occurs with person-to-person contact, or contact with infected feces, mucous, or phlegm. Before the polio vaccine was invented in 1955, this disease caused thousands of severe illnesses every year. Today, polio has been eradicated from most countries where the vaccine is widely used.

There are two kinds of polio vaccines:

• Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV): This vaccine contains an inactivated (dead) form of the polio virus, and it cannot cause polio. It is the preferred polio vaccine today.
• Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): Since 2000, this vaccine is no longer used in the U.S., but it is still used in some other countries in the world. It was phased out after being linked to vaccine-strain paralytic polio.

The IPV polio vaccine is now recommended as a routine childhood immunization, given in four doses at ages 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and 4-6 years. Because the polio vaccine schedule is similar to that of the DTaP vaccine, the Hib vaccine, and the Hepatitis B vaccine, these vaccines may be given in combination. The polio vaccine may also be given alone.

Polio Vaccine Side Effects

The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) is much safer than the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), which is no longer used in the U.S. Even so, there is a small risk that the IPV could cause a life-threatening allergic reaction. This is known as anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock. When this polio vaccine side effect occurs, the tongue and throat can swell very suddenly — usually within minutes or hours after the shot. Without emergency medical treatment, the child’s airway may become severely constricted, causing oxygen deprivation, organ damage or failure, brain damage, disability, or even death.

Polio Vaccine Injury Claim

Polio vaccine injury claims are decided in a special federal court. This court, known as the Vaccine Court, is located in Washington D.C. It consists of experts who review vaccine injury claims. The job of the court is to decide whether the case shows a high probability that the vaccine caused an injury. The experts are authorized to award up to $250,000 in financial compensation from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), a special fund that has awarded more than $2.4 billion in compensation since 1989.

Before you can file a claim with the VICP, you must meet certain eligibility requirements. The VICP only awards compensation for serious injuries. For example, the injury must have lasted for six months or more, or caused a disability or death, or required hospitalization or surgery. Another requirement is that only injured people may apply. People who may be eligible are the direct victims of a vaccine injury, or parents of an injured child, or family members of a deceased/disabled victim, or legal guardians of an injured person. Furthermore, your claim must be filed within a certain amount of time. Do not wait until just before the time limit to file your claim. The claim must be filed within three years of an injury, two years of a death, or four years for an injury that caused death. If you have any questions about whether you are eligible, contact The Schmidt Firm, PLLC today.

As of June 1, 2012, the VICP has received 276 IPV polio vaccine claims, including 262 for injuries and 14 for deaths. So far, the VICP has decided to award compensation in 7 cases, and they have dismissed 266 cases.

Do I have a Polio Vaccine Lawsuit?

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Polio vaccine injury claims in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by the Polio vaccine, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Vaccine Injury Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

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