Indiana Vaccine Injury Attorney

Widman Law Firm is able to file claims for vaccine related injuries taking place in the State of Indiana. The admission required to bring vaccine injury claims in front of the Court of Federal Claims, the special court in which vaccine injury claims are heard, is a federal admission. Therefore, Phyllis Widman, Esq. is fully admitted and prepared to bring your vaccine injury claims in all 50 states and D.C., including Indiana. Whether you are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Carmel, or anywhere in between, the attorneys at Widman Law Firm are prepared to provide you and your family with high quality legal representation for your vaccine injury claim.

In the 1970’s and 80’s, claims that the Pertussis vaccine caused permanent brain injury in children were many. Lawsuits inevitably followed, and the unfolding debacle resulted in a public outcry against vaccine manufacturers. Those manufacturers decided to cut their losses and stop producing the vaccine, until only one maker of the Pertussis shot was left within the U.S. by 1985. The U.S. Government, watching the immunization rate fall, understood that action needed to be taken if vaccine production were to continue. In 1986, Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which removed financial liability from drug companies in the event of vaccine injuries.

No longer able to sue the manufacturers directly, a new system needed to be developed to compensate vaccine-injured people for their damages. This system was established, and called the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).

As of 2023, the VICP has paid out over $4 BILLION dollars in compensation to victims of vaccine injury.

A branch of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is a legal claims process. As such, it is best to proceed with an experienced vaccine injury attorney. Petitioners (the injured claimants who file a petition in vaccine court) must essentially prove three things in order to be considered for compensation by the Program:

• the petitioner must have received a vaccine covered under the VICP
• the injury must be recognized on the Vaccine Injury Table
• the injury must have occurred within a specified amount of time

Many routine inoculations are covered under the VICP, such as: combinations of the Pertussis, Tetanus, and Diphtheria shots (Tdap, DTaP, DTP); the seasonal flu shot; combinations of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccines (MMR, MR, M, R); the pneumonia vaccine; Hepatitis A and B; and others.

Further, a number of vaccine injuries are recognized by the Program. The most common injury in the VICP is SIRVA, a term incorporating a number of injuries to the shoulder following vaccine administration. The Program also sees claims for GBS, CIDP, ADEM, and other adverse reactions, as well as death as a result of vaccination.

Compensation from the VICP may include:

• an award for pain and suffering, up to $250,000
• repayment of medical costs
• reimbursement of lost wages
• projected cost of living expenses

Or, in the event of a death arising from a vaccine:

• a death benefit, up to $250,000

Note: in almost all cases, the VICP also pays 100% of the petitioner’s legal fees.

This is to prevent attorneys from taking a percentage of the petitioner’s compensation, which is meant to go to them alone.

Just as the VICP compensates individuals damaged by vaccines, there exists another program, called the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), that compensates those injured by emergency countermeasures. One recent example of an emergency countermeasure is the COVID-19 vaccine, and other medicines and medical devices designed to fight the coronavirus.

Over 95% of the total claims in the CICP have been COVID-related.

The COVID-19 vaccine is the most represented countermeasure in the program.

Unlike the VICP, the CICP is considered a “last resort” financial resource for the injured. As such, the CICP does not grant a pain and suffering award. It will, however, reimburse medical costs, lost wages up to $379,000, and potentially pay cost of living expenses. The CICP is also authorized to grant a death benefit of up to $370,000 to the estate of the deceased.

At Widman Law Firm, our team specializes in vaccine injury cases first and foremost. We have gotten our clients millions of dollars in compensation from the VICP, and have represented those whose injuries range from mild to life-changing. We’ve fought for them, and now we’re ready to fight for you.

Due to the federal nature of vaccine court, cases are heard from all over the country without ever needing to physically appear. The CICP, while not a legal system, also has a federal jurisdiction, and receives and processes claims from all 50 states. However, both programs have their own statute of limitations.

To be eligible for compensation from the VICP, you must file a claim no later than 3 years from the first onset of injury symptoms. To be eligible in the CICP, you must file your claim within 1 year from the date of countermeasure administration.

DO NOT WAIT: once the statute of limitations is up, you can no longer file for compensation in either program. Contact us for a free consultation, and find out how we can file YOUR claim for compensation in the VICP or the CICP today.