Pursuing Justice After Flu Shot Injuries
Siri & Glimstad LLP are nationally recognized for their practice in vaccine injury law. The firm represents clients throughout the United States with vaccine injury claims. The firm’s lawyers are licensed to practice before the U.S. Federal Claims Court, and if you or someone you love is suffering from a vaccine injury, they can help.
How Common Are Flu Shot Injuries?
Estimating the number of annual flu shot injuries can be difficult, as the severity of an injury can depend on many factors. However, vaccine-related injuries are common enough that the U.S. government has a compensation fund (the VICP) where injury victims can seek financial payout for the pain and suffering they endured from getting a vaccine.
What Are The Signs Of A Bad Flu Shot Reaction?
There are short-term and long-term signs when trying to figure out if you suffered an injury from a flu vaccine. Short-term flu vaccine reactions can occur from a few minutes to a few hours after receiving the vaccine. These reactions can include:
- Breathing difficulties
- Swelling
- Hives
- Headaches
- Muscle aches
- Fatigue
- Nausea
Long-term flu vaccine injury reactions can include:
- Continuous shoulder pain
- Limited arm mobility
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder where your body’s immune system attacks your nervous system, weakening muscles or leaving you with frequent numbness and tingling. While it is a rare disorder, it can result from a flu-shot-related injury. If you do have it, you may not feel it for a while after getting your vaccine.
What Allergic Reactions Could Result From The Flu Vaccine?
While the flu shot is recommended every year for anyone over the age of six months, no vaccine is completely safe. Reactions to the flu vaccine can and do occur, and allergic reactions such as angioedema and anaphylaxis are often triggered by residual egg proteins in people allergic to eggs. Severe allergic reactions to the flu vaccine can include:
- Trouble and difficulty breathing
- Wheezing and shortness of breath
- Swelling around the face
- Hive reactions
- Weakness
- Dizziness and a quickened heart rate
The flu shot can also trigger the development of autoimmune diseases like Guillain-Barre syndrome, transverse myelitis and others.
What Are The Known Side Effects Of The Flu Vaccine?
Side effects of the flu vaccine are rare, but they can and do occur. The most common side effects of the flu vaccine include:
- Pain and stiffness in the area where the shot was administered
- Localized redness around the injection area
- Muscle and body aches
- Headaches
- An overall feeling as if you are getting sick
Unfortunately, in serious cases, people can experience more severe side effects, including systemic flu shot reactions, in the days or weeks after the vaccination. If you, or someone you love, suffered from severe flu shot side effects, you may be entitled to damages.
What Should I Do After A Flu Shot Injury?
If you believe you have a flu shot injury, it’s crucial to take the following steps:
- Seek medical attention: Call 911, go to the hospital or seek guidance from a licensed and trusted health care provider.
- Report your incident: After you’ve received the appropriate medical care, you or your doctor will want to file a report in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Reporting your incident to VAERS can help government agencies like the CDC and FDA record these incidences and discover if there is a trend among others who get certain types of shots.
- Seek legal counsel: Contacting an attorney can help you seek compensation against the entity that caused your flu vaccine-related injury and help you seek compensation to cover any temporary or permanent damage it caused.
This is important to preserve your health and any record of the reaction, which will be vital if you need to make a case.
Injured By The Flu Vaccine? Call Today.
If you or someone you love has suffered negative results that led to injury from a vaccine, like the flu vaccine, don’t wait. Strict filing deadlines and statutes of limitations apply. Call Siri & Glimstad LLP today at 888-747-4529 to schedule your free consultation or send an email through the online form.