Widman Law Firm LLC HomeMichigan Vaccine Injury Lawyer
The attorneys at Widman Law Firm are fully admitted to file claims for vaccine related injuries occurring in the State of Michigan. The Court of Federal Claims, the Court in which vaccine injury claims are heard, is a federal court whose licensing allows attorneys such as Phyllis Widman, Esq. and her team to bring claims for vaccine injuries occurring in all 50 states and D.C., including Michigan. Whether you are in Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Warren, Sterling Heights, or anywhere in between, our team can provide you with high quality representation in filing your vaccine injury claim.
The Vaccine Injury Compensation ProgramWhen some children who had been vaccinated against Pertussis in the 1970’s and 80’s developed symptoms of permanent brain injury, families fired off lawsuits against the vaccine’s manufacturers. In response, those manufacturers stopped producing Pertussis vaccines, citing a great degree of financial risk. Immunization rates fell, and the U.S. Government was forced to step in. In 1988, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, or VICP, was established: a division of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims capable of compensating victims of vaccine injury or death. The government uses this system to protect vaccine manufacturers by mitigating their potential monetary risk, thereby ensuring the continued production of crucial inoculations.
Since its inception, the VICP has awarded more than $4.4 BILLION dollars to individuals who have suffered vaccine-related damages.
Those who have sustained vaccine injuries and who are seeking compensation from the VICP must file what is known as a petition, making them the petitioner. Petitioners must prove three things in order to be eligible for financial reparations: one, the petitioner must have received a vaccine protected under the VICP; two, the petitioner must have suffered an injury included on the Vaccine Injury Table; and three, the petitioner must have experienced symptoms within a given window of time.
Examples of vaccines protected by the Program:
- Diphtheria
- HIB
- HPV
- Seasonal Flu
- Tetanus
- Hepatitis A and B
- Pertussis
- And more
Examples of injuries compensable by the Program:
The VICP is a legal system, and filing a claim in the program is a legal process. It is therefore encouraged to proceed with a specialized personal injury attorney, though a petitioner may exercise their right to represent themselves. The VICP will, in almost all cases, reimburse a petitioner’s attorneys’ fees, or their legal costs if they chose to represent themselves. Though formal court hearings are held, petitioners and attorneys rarely attend in-person; due to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ national jurisdiction, and the nature of some petitioners’ injuries, cases are handled via video conference for the sake of accessibility as well as expediency.
For a petitioner’s pain and suffering related to a vaccine injury, up to $250,000 may be awarded by the Program; the amounts awarded for lost wages, medical costs, and lifecare expenses are unlimited and can be much higher. For a vaccine death, a benefit of up to $250,000 may be awarded.
The Countermeasures Injury Compensation ProgramPassed by Congress in 2005, the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act afforded drug makers liability protection for emergency countermeasures developed and administered in the event of a public health crisis. And, just as the VICP was formed to compensate victims of vaccine injuries, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, or CICP, was established to reimburse damages caused by medical countermeasures against epidemics and pandemics, as well as chemical, biological, and radiological warfare.
The CICP was largely inactive until the Coronavirus pandemic.
More than 95% of claims in the CICP have been COVID-countermeasure related; the most represented countermeasure in the CICP being the COVID-19 vaccine.
Unlike the VICP, the CICP is not a legal system - though it is still best to proceed with a specialized personal injury attorney. Unfortunately, the CICP does not reimburse legal fees or costs. The CICP also does not have a pain and suffering award, but will grant up to $379,000 in reimbursement for lost wages (limited to $50,000 per year) and reimbursement for medical costs related to the injury. A death benefit of up to $370,00 may be granted in the event of a countermeasure-related death.
Experienced Vaccine Lawyers Who Will Fight for YOUUnlike large firms who only have a vaccine “division”, Widman Law Firm has always specialized in vaccine injury cases. Every day, our team is fighting for our clients in vaccine court - victims of everything from the flu shot to the MMR vaccine, whose damages range from moderate to life-altering. We’ve won millions of dollars in compensation for them, and now we’re prepared to fight for you.
If you or someone you love has been a victim of a vaccine- or emergency countermeasure-related injury, call or email us to find out how we can file your claim in the VICP or CICP today.
Be advised: there is a statute of limitations of three years from the first onset of symptoms to file in the VICP, and only ONE year from the administration of a countermeasure to file in the CICP. Once the statute has run out, you will become ineligible to file a claim.
