Vaccine damage payments

I have a client who may be eligible for a vaccine payment, but I want to be certain before advising him to make a claim.  I can see from online searching that it’s a lengthy process.

The client has quite severe disabilities. He is now on Enh and Enh PIP. Hospitalised earlier this year for 3 months. He says it is due to the vaccine, but looking at the medical letters he has this isn’t mentioned. The cause is stated as cytotoxic lesion of the corpus callosum. Again from searching online there is mention of this being linked to the covid vaccine.

He fulfils all the criteria in the Disability Rights handbook, I can’t see anything in CPAG about it. I believe his main difficulty with a claim will be showing cause and effect?

Does anyone have any experience of claiming? Would he need to be referred to a solicitor rather than an adviser?

Not something I’ve dealt with. The issues would I suppose be establishing 60% disablement (roughly equivalent to the loss of a hand) and causation.

It may be that he would wish to engage a solicitor but they will need to be funded by taking some percentage of his award.

I wonder if it might be sensible for him to take advice from a solicitor in relation to a personal injury claim. If causation can be established in that context then that evidence could be used in relation to a Vaccine Damage Payment claim.

Thanks Elliot. I’ll suggest a compensation claim to him. I don’t think he has anything to lose by starting the claim process as well. I’ll see if his consultant will do a letter confirming whether there’s a link as well. He can’t walk without a stick and has significant care needs so proving the 60% disablement should be possible.

The advantage of doing the PI claim first would be that he may get funding for his own expert evidence that way; whereas if he goes for the VDP now he will only get the expert opinion from the NHSBSA which will be very difficult to dislodge if he disagrees with it. I think it is going to take rather more than a letter from the consultant to establish the link.

Very interesting ... starting to hear Vaccine Damage Payment getting mentioned. Plus need to consider (or at least flag) potential impact on benefits should either a VDP or a PI claim be successful. This likely to become a v important thread me thinks.

Possibly of interest: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-11-15/87733