Starting Monday, courts in Germany will begin examining a series of claims about side effects after vaccinations against the coronavirus. A court in Hamburg will be the first to take up a case against the German pharmaceutical company Biontech, which together with the American Pfizer, produced the first mRNA vaccine Comirnaty.
Likely to obtain expert advice
The woman behind the suit claims that after the vaccination she suffered from “pain in the upper body, swelling of the extremities, exhaustion, fatigue and sleep disturbances” and demands 150,000 euros (roughly SEK 1.7 million) in damages. Her lawyer Thomas Ulbrich, who represents another 250 people in similar cases, says his clients “were healthy” before taking the vaccine.
A key question for the courts is whether the reported side effects of the vaccine, when used properly, “exceed the level considered justifiable by medical science,” that is, whether the effects are considered serious enough to warrant consideration. In order to deal with the issue of causation, the courts will likely need to obtain expert advice.
In a statement to AFP, Biontech said the number of claims for damages is very few compared to the number of vaccine doses that have been delivered worldwide and that each claim must be assessed individually.
“No Causation”
“Justified claims for damages would of course be satisfied by Biontech”, according to the company which, however, adds that “no causal link between the health damage presented and vaccination with Comirnaty has been proven” in the cases reviewed so far.
Of the 192 million vaccine doses given in Germany, 338,857 suspected cases of side effects have been reported, including 54,879 serious reactions, according to a German medical regulatory authority.