From BZ/dpa
According to lawyers, at least 185 civil lawsuits are pending across Germany for alleged damage caused by corona vaccinations.
According to their own statements, two law firms in Düsseldorf and Wiesbaden represent 135 and 50 cases respectively. The lawsuits are directed against all four major manufacturers of corona vaccines.
The presumed first trial is to be heard on April 28 at the Frankfurt Regional Court. The defendant is the Mainz-based vaccine manufacturer Biontech. The plaintiff is a woman who claims to have suffered heart damage as a result of the Covid 19 vaccination. The woman, who, according to her lawyer, works in a medical profession herself, wants to remain unknown.
Each case must be negotiated individually or a settlement will be reached. The crux of the matter is the causality: is there a connection between the vaccination and the damage? According to the opinion of lawyers and physicians, this question will ultimately be decided by experts.
3000 requests
According to the Düsseldorf law firm, it had around 3,000 inquiries, which resulted in 810 mandates, of which 135 resulted in lawsuits. The Wiesbaden law firm reported 850 mandates and 50 lawsuits. Here, too, hundreds of cases were rejected as hopeless. According to industry experts, these two law firms represent the majority of those willing to sue.
In principle, the same liability rules apply to Covid-19 vaccines as to other drugs, for example under drug law or the Product Liability Act. The manufacturer can be held responsible if there is a production error. For example, if the drug is administered incorrectly, the person vaccinating is liable.
The Düsseldorf lawyer Tobias Ulbrich expects a “battle of experts” – if the courts do not make a “deterrent judgment” at the beginning, as he told the German Press Agency.
Biontech emphasizes that “so far in none of the cases examined by Biontech has a causal connection between the described health impairments and the vaccination with Comirnaty been proven”.
“We take our responsibility as a vaccine manufacturer very seriously,” said a spokeswoman for dpa. Biontech carefully examines each case in which claims are asserted against Biontech. The prerequisite, however, is that the lawyers submit sufficient documents. “When evaluating the case, we can rely solely on the medical facts to evaluate whether there is a causal relationship or not. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is often lacking.”