8.1 Million Dollar Judgment Entered for Guillain-Barré Syndrome Client
Ward Black Law is pleased to announce that on Friday, April 18, the US Court of Federal Claims entered a judgment in favor of a local vaccine injury client. After suffering from the devastating effects of the flu vaccine, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and will now receive lifetime compensation totaling more than 8.1 million dollars.
The Case
A healthy 45-year-old, our client was a happily married man with a one-year-old son. On October 4, 2010 he visited his family doctor for a routine checkup and received the influenza vaccine, more commonly known as the flu shot. In the days following his vaccination, our client suffered from generalized numbness and weakness. On October 12, 2010, he woke up paralyzed from the waist down and in incredible pain. After being transported by ambulance to the emergency room at Wesley Long Hospital, he was diagnosed with GBS and subsequently intubated as the paralysis had reached his diaphragm, causing him to suffocate. Our client remained on the edge of death for three weeks, including 10 days in a coma. This life-threatening case of GBS was rare and exceptional, and already in its most severe and permanent form. Over the next 10 months, our client was treated at four different medical facilities in North Carolina, where he was kept alive via respirators, feeding tubes, medication and most significantly, the determination to see his son grow into a man. Despite this aggressive medical care, our client continued to suffer from profound and devastating neurological deficits. He is now living at home with his family but is dependent upon 24-hour attendant care.
Providing Justice
The attorneys at Ward Black Law successfully petitioned for funds from the Vaccine Compensation Program before the US Court of Federal Claims. A life care planner and an economist were employed to assess the future needs of our client in order for him to receive full compensation. The vaccine injury attorneys at Ward Black Law ensured that the client received everything he was entitled to including lost wages, unreimbursed medical expenses, maximum compensation for pain and suffering as well as a life care plan to cover all future medical needs. Judgment was entered in favor of our client entitling him to compensation and monthly benefits for life. The benefits he will receive through 2040 will total more than 8.1 million dollars. He will continue to receive payments beyond this for years lived past 2040. All attorney fees, costs and expert expenses are being paid separately by the Vaccine Compensation Program and will not reduce the client’s recovery funds.
Guillain-Barré syndrome
Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a well-known autoimmune condition which attacks the nervous system and results in neurologic injury to the body. The time period between the vaccine and the onset of GBS can range from five days to three weeks. According to Mayo clinic the most common symptoms of the disease include:
- Tingling sensations in legs that spread to the upper body
- Unsteady walking or inability to walk
- Difficulty with eye movement, facial movement, speaking, chewing or swallowing
- Severe pain in the lower back
- Difficulty with bladder control or intestinal functions
Although rare, GBS is known to be triggered by the flu vaccine. It is estimated that only 1 to 2 out of every 100,000 people develop GBS from the flu vaccine and only five percent of those patients develop severe GBS. Currently Ward Black Law is handling five additional GBS cases caused by the flu vaccine, in addition to numerous other vaccine-related claims, including cases involving transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, polymyalgia rheumatica and retina vasculitis.
Learn more today
If you (or a loved one) have experience devastating side effects from the flu vaccine or other vaccinations, Nancy Meyers and the Ward Black Law vaccine attorneys are prepared to help you today. Call 336-502-6208 or schedule a free case review today. View the judgment and decision documents here.
