Do I Really Need a Vaccine Lawyer?

You or someone you know recently received a vaccine. You’ve suffered injury or an adverse reaction to the vaccine. A doctor has examined you and determined that in all likelihood you have suffered injury due to the vaccine. You’d like to be compensated for your injuries. The question is, what do you do next? ### Can My Personal Injury Lawyer Handle My Vaccine Injury Case? Many people automatically assume that the same lawyer they turn to for car accident cases or to draft wills can help them with their vaccine injury lawsuit. This is not the case. Few people outside of the vaccine law world have ever heard of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VCIP) in the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC. However, cases involving the most common vaccines are filed here. The catch is that not every attorney in the US can practice law before the court. In order to handle vaccine cases, an attorney must be admitted to the United States Court of Federal Claims and licensed in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Licensed vaccine attorneys must possess the vast knowledge and intricacies of the vaccine court, the applicable law, the medicine and the science. Not every personal injury attorney has this specialized knowledge. In fact, there are very few vaccine attorneys nationwide. Therefore, it is critical to ask if your lawyer is a licensed vaccine lawyer before allowing him or her to handle your vaccine claim. ### Can I Handle My Vaccine Injury Claim Myself? In addition, it is unwise to attempt to handle your case on your own, or pro se (Latin for “for oneself”). If you have done your research, you will see that the VICP allows individuals to file their own cases. However, it is not recommended for many reasons. First, all attorneys’ fees and costs are paid separate and apart from any settlement you receive, so there is no monetary incentive to not retain a licensed vaccine attorney. Second, filing your own case may seem tempting, but navigating the VICP, the Court, the DOJ attorneys and the nuanced legal and medical issues is very daunting. Third, it is expensive to prosecute a case in the VICP from the filing fees, obtaining medical records, and securing expert reports. At Green & Schafle LLC, we front and cover all of these expenses on your behalf and then we are reimbursed by the Court at the end of the case. ### Philadelphia Vaccine Injury Attorney At Green & Schafle LLC, our partner, David J. Carney, Esquire, has been handling vaccine cases in the VICP for several years and is currently the Vice President of the Vaccine Bar Association, the national organization dedicated to representing those injured by vaccines. As a Pennsylvania vaccine lawyer, New Jersey vaccine lawyer, and Delaware vaccine lawyer, David routinely represents individuals in the tristate area, as well as nationwide, who have been injured from vaccines. If you or someone know has been injured by a vaccine, please contact us immediately for a free consultation at 215-462-3330 or by using our online contact form.