Possible redress for AstraZeneca takers

With reports now surfacing that one of the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine is thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, when a person has blood clots (thrombosis) together with a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), some are wondering if there can be any redress for those who have experienced side effects. Attorney-at-law Iqbal Cheverria thinks there might be.

"Certainly, if you can make out a claim for negligence. So in very simple terms, for you to make a class action in negligence you'd have to prove that there was a person who had a statutory duty and they failed to perform that duty and as a result of that, there was some damage to a particular person," Cheverria told THE STAR yesterday.

However, because the government signed an indemnity document, vaccine manufacturers are protected from being sued by Jamaicans if complications develop due to taking the vaccine. As a result, lawsuits can only be filed against the government.

"The first thing is that you'll need to look at the elements of negligence. So you'll need to establish that there was a duty of care, meaning that the government should have responsibly taken certain steps to ensure that the medication is safe, and then you'll have to establish that there is a breach of duty of care, establishing that you got sick taking something that the government recommended, and then you would need to prove damages," said Cheverria.

The lawyer said that the issue as it relates to damages is that a person would need to show a link between their sickness and the vaccine, noting that could prove difficult.

"There are too many third parties involved in a case like this. So third party number one could be the government, number two could be the distributor, and number three could even be the person who administered it to you ... so there are too many causes in a suit like this to establish a chain of causation," added Cheverria.