BioNTech will go to court on Monday to defend itself against a lawsuit from a German woman who is seeking damages for alleged side effects of its COVID-19 vaccine, the first of potentially hundreds of cases in the country.
The woman, exercising her right under German privacy law for her name not to be made public, is suing the German vaccine maker for at least 150,000 euro ($161,500) in damages for bodily harm as well as compensation for unspecified material damage, according to the regional court in Hamburg which is hearing the case and law firm Rogert & Ulbrich, which is representing her.
The plaintiff claims she suffered upper-body pain, swollen extremities, fatigue and sleeping disorder due to the vaccine.
The first hearing is on Monday.
Tobias Ulbrich, a lawyer at Rogert & Ulbrich, told Reuters he aimed to challenge in court the assessment made by European Union regulators and German vaccine assessment bodies that the BioNTech shot has a positive risk-benefit profile.
German pharmaceutical law states that makers of drugs or vaccines are only liable to pay damages for side-effects if “medical science” shows that their products cause disproportionate harm relative to their benefits or if the label information is wrong…
LIABILITY
It is not clear who would pay the legal costs or compensation if the plaintiff wins the case.
Sources have said some of the EU’s bulk purchase agreements with vaccine makers, including BioNTech-Pfizer, contained full or partial liability waivers for both legal costs and potential compensation, which could force EU governments to bear some of the costs.
Like many countries, Germany also has a public sector financial support scheme for people who suffer permanent harm from vaccines, known as a no-fault compensation programme, but participation in the programme does not block someone seeking damages separately.
The United States has granted manufacturers immunity from liability for COVID vaccines that receive regulatory approval.
SOURCE: Reuters
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