If you or a loved one are claiming injury from an adverse reaction to a vaccine and want to file a claim in the vaccine injury compensation program (VICP) you must do so within 36 months of the first sign or symptom of your claimed injury. Failure to do so will result in your case being dismiss.
First Sign or Symptom
A first glance, the 36 month statute to limitations seems clear cut and understandable. However, it is anything but clear and understandable and it is often times used by the court to dismiss valid injury claims. The first sign or symptom of most adverse reactions to a vaccination is obvious. Although many people do not know about the VICP, most people are aware of common injuries from vaccination. For example, most people know when someone or themselves are experiencing a seizure or nerve damage to an arm or leg. In some cases, blindness can be caused by certain vaccinations and that is obvious to most people. Epilepsy, seizure disorders, blindness, nerve damage, paralysis and even death are recognizable by everyone as an injury. It is not the case for young women with ovarian dysfunction.
I represent many young women that have Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) as a result of the HPV Gardasil vaccination. POI is generally used by health care providers to describe when a woman’s ovaries stop working normally before she is 40 years of age. Many women naturally experience reduced fertility when they are around 40 years old. This age may mark the start of irregular menstrual periods that signal the onset of menopause. For women with POI, irregular periods and reduced fertility occur before the age of 40, sometimes as early as the teenage years.
The usual and customary first sign or symptom of POI is usually menstrual irregularities or missed periods, generally called amenorrhea. The problem is that many teenage women have irregular periods and, in fact, irregular periods are very common. The reason this is a problem in the VICP is that these irregular periods are often times not an indication to a doctor or a young woman that there are any ovarian problems. Irregular periods are often times the “norm” with young, active, teenage women.
Predicament
The first sign or symptom is used to trigger the running of the 36 month statute of limitation in the VICP. It begins to run when the medical profession at large believes the first sign or symptom occurred with the benefit of hindsight. This means that after a woman is diagnosed, many times more than 3 years after vaccination, a doctor can look back and claim that an irregular period many years prior was the first sign or symptom. This can be used to dismiss your claim even though no one knows for certain that those irregular periods were the start of POI.
Imagine using this criteria to determine the first sign or symptom of lung cancer. Although lung cancer is not an adverse reaction to vaccines, if this criteria were applied, it could lead to absurd findings. Anyone ultimately diagnosed with cancer who had ever coughed in the past, whether because of a cold, allergies or something caught in their throat, could have that used against them in determining when the first sign or symptom of cancer began. I use this only as an analogy because most reasonable people would consider that an absurd result.
We Can Help
If you or your daughter, niece, granddaughter, or daughter of a friend have had any of the HPV Gardasil vaccinations and are having any type of menstrual irregularity or any sign or symptoms similar to that of menopause, you need to take immediate action. We represent both children and adults who have been injured because of adverse reactions from vaccinations including the HPV Gardasil vaccine. If you have any questions or concerns about a vaccine injury claim please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your rights.
Since the VICP pays for the legal expenses associated with the claim there is no financial risk to seek the services of an experienced vaccine attorney. We represent clients from around the country and would be glad to speak with you should you have any questions or concerns about a potential vaccine injury.
Please check out our website for more information, call 1-800-431-9776 or email me at mark@kh-law.net with any questions or concerns. At Krueger Hernandez & Thompson SC, we listen, we care, we get results!
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